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ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL. 


THE 


ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


BY 

JOHN  LATIMER, 

Author  of  'ANMAiiS  of  Bristol  in  the  Ninetkrnth  Centoby/' 


PRINTED     FOR     THE     AUTHOR. 

1893. 


MO 


BY   THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 

Demy  8ro,  Price  13».  M .,  Large  Paper,  '22«.  6rf.  Set. 

THE  ANNALS  OF  BBISTOL  IN  THE 
NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


IkJ,-.--  ..J 

'I"  ■  I*  » 

4  \  -^  "■•  ■> 


PREFACE. 


The  compiler  must  plead  "  extenuating  circumstances  "  for 
making  a  further  addition  to  the  numerous  histories  of 
Bristol. 

Whilst  materials  were  being  gathered  for  the  Annals  of 
the  present  century,  facts  frequently  cropped  up  relating  to 
its  predecessor  which  were  found  to  be  either  ignored  or 
misreported  in  existing  works.  The  number  of  such 
incidents  became  at  length  so  great  as  to  suggest  a  syste- 
matic search  for  others.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  D.  T. 
Burges,  Town  Clerk,  and  Mr.  J.  T.  Lane,  City  Treasurer, 
the  vast  collection  of  documents  preserved  at  the  Council 
House  was  thoroughly  examined  for  the  first  time,  and 
yielded  large  returns.  The  late  Archdeacon  Norris  kindly 
permitted  access  to  the  minute  books  of  the  Dean  and 
Chapter,  and  to  the  mass  of  papers  in  the  old  Consistory 
Court,  and  the  facts  thus  brought  to  light  proved  highly 
interesting.  The  extensive  collection  of  local  books  and 
manuscripts  made  by  the  late  Mr.  C.  T.  JefFeries  aflforded 
another  bountiful  harvest.  Much  was  gathered  from  the 
noble  library  of  Mr.  Alderman  Fox,  to  whom  sincere  thanks 
are  oflfered  for  his  hospitality  during  the  research.  The 
valuable  collection  of  local  books,  maps  and  manuscripts 
belonging  to  Mr.  William  George  furnished  original  matter 
of  great  interest.  An  examination  of  the  Bristol  Wills  pre- 
served in  the  Probate  Office,  and  at  the  Central  Registry  in 
London,  supplied  numerous  instructive  facts.  Curious 
entries,  again,  were  found  in  the  vestry  books  of  Christ 
Church,  St.  Nicholas,  St.  Stephen,  Temple  and  St.  Philip, 
and  the  courtesy  of  their  custodians  merits  especial  acknow- 
ledgment. At  the  Bodleian  Library,  in  addition  to  various 
minor  treasures,  was  found  a  manuscript  "  History  of 
Bristol,"  compiled  by  a  local  schoolmaster  early  in  the  last 
century,  containing  many  original  notes.  And  in  the  State 
Papers  from  1700  to  1760,  to  which  access  was  obtained, 
were   found   much  correspondence  relating  to  city  affairs. 


VI  PREFACE. 

The  almost  overwhelming  stores  of  the  British  Museum  em- 
braced material  requiring  mention  in  a  little  more  detail. 

The  local  history  of  the  last  century  has  been  hitherto 
chiefly  based  on  so-called  "Calendars,"  kept  by  private 
citizens,  and  very  briefly  recording  the  notable  events  of  the 
time.  From  discrepancies  existing  in  those  manuscripts, 
some  of  them  appear  to  have  been  written  from  memory, 
long  after  the  incidents  they  record  had  passed  away.  In 
any  case,  it  is  obvious  that  such  jottings  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared, as  regards  trustworthiness,  with  the  reports  of  local 
events  published  in  contemporary  newspapers.  Yet  the 
latter  source  of  information  has  been  neglected  by  the 
historians  of  the  city,  in  despite  of  the  baldness  and  in- 
adequacy that  characterise  their  later  annals.  Thanks  to 
the  usual  kindness  of  Mr.  T.  D.  Taylor,  the  volumes  of  early 
'  Bristol  newspapers  in  his  possession  were  made  available. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Phelps,  of  Chestal,  Dursley,  kindly  permitted 
an  examination  of  his  fine  set  of  Gloucester  Journals, 
commencing  in  1722.  To  supply  the  deficitocies  stilT  re- 
maining, recourse  was  had  to  tne  piles  of  early  newspapers 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  although  the  inspection  of  many 
thousands  of  the  pigmy  sheets  involved  much  time  and 
labour,  the  facts  brought  to  light  amply  repaid  their  cost. 

With  the  mass  of  material  thus  accumulated,  the  com- 
piler felt  himself  in  a  position  to  lay  aside  previous  works, 
and  to  produce  the  story  of  the  century  entirely  from  new 
sources  of  information.  How  far  this  has  been  satisfactorily 
accomplished  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader. 

In  addition  to  the  gentlemen  whose  services  have  been 
acknowledged  above,  the  compiler  has  to  return  grateful 
thanks  for  assistance  received  from  the  Earl  of  Ducie,  Lord 
Lieutenant,  Sir  Charles  Wathen,  Mr.  W.  J.  Braikenridge, 
Bath,  the  Eev.  S.  W.  Wayte,  Mr.  G.  H.  Pope,  Treasurer  of 
the  Merchants'  Society,  Colonel  Bramble,  Mr.  W.  H.  Wills, 
Mr.  J.  J.  Simpson,  Clerk  to  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor,  Mr. 
.lohn  Taylor,  City  Librarian,  Mr.  Harold  B.  Bowles,  Mr.  W. 
W.  Hughes,  Mr.  R  Hall  Warren,  Mr.  Walter  Frost,  Mr.  F. 
Gr.  Powell,  Mr.  G.  E.  Weare,  Weston-super-Mare,  and  the 
Rev.  A.  B.  Beaven,  Preston. 

Trelawny  Place, 

January,  1893. 


THE  ANNALS  OF  BEISTOL 

IN  THE 

EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 


Mr.  Dallaway,  in  one  of  his  essays  on  local  antiquities, 
expressed  his  sorrow  at  being  unable  to  conjure  up,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  contemporaries,  a  vivid  picture  of  Bristol  in 
the  time  of  William  Worcester.  A  similar  regret  may  be 
acknowledged  that  a  perfect  description  of  the  city  and  its 
inhabitants  about  two  hundred  years  ago  is  not  to  be 
obtained  from  the  materials  now  available.  Those  materials 
consist,  for  the  most  part,  of  scattered  fragments,  gleaned 
from  various  records,  and  their  combination  will  leave  much 
of  the  following  sketch  to  be  filled  in  by  the  help  of  the 
reader's  imagination.  Imperfect  as  may  be  the  result,  it 
will  at  least  serve  to  indicate  the  material  and  social  pro- 
gress that  was  made  during  the  eighteenth  century,  and  to 
render  its  annals  more  interesting  and  intelligible. 

It  may  be  observed  in  the  first  place  that  between  the 
Middle- Age  picture  sighed  for  by  Mr.  Dallaway,  and  that  of 
which  the  outlines  are  about  to  be  drawn,  the  difference  in 
substance  must  have  been  practically  trivial.     Town  life  in 
England  marked  a  slight  progress  at  the  darkest  periods  of 
history ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  Bristol  of  1700  bore  a  far 
closer  resemblance  to  the  Bristol  of  the  Plantagenets  than 
it  did  to  the  city  of  the  present  day.    A  few  great  monastic 
edifices  had  disappeared,  and  the  massive  Norman  castle 
that  long  frowned  over  the  town  had  been,  like  the  feudal 
institutions  it  represented,  swept  away.     But  in  other  outx^ 
ward  respects  there  was  little  changed.     The  city  was  still  1 
surrounded  by  walls,  and  entrance  could  be  effected  only^  / 
through  the  ancient  gates  of  Redcliff,  Temple,   Newgate,  j"* 
and  the  rest.     The  High  Cross,  one  of  the  most  striking 
local  erections  of  the  Middle  Ages,  held  its  original  place  at--- 
the  junction  of  the  four  leading  thoroughfares,^  and  had  just 

B 


y. 


2  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

been  repaired,  gilded,  and  painted,  at  an  expense  denoting 
the  honour  in  which  it  was  held.  The  obscurity,  narrow- 
ness, and  intricacy  of  the  streets,  many  of  which  are  now 
fairly  represented  by  the  unaltered  part  of  Maryleport  Street, 
had  undergone  no  improvement.  The  picturesque  old  bridge, 
with  its  double  row  of  houses,  between  which  the  stream  of 
traffic  struggled  painfully,  was  still  one  of  the  sights  of  the 
city.  The  muddy  tide  surged  backwards  and  forwards 
twice  a  day  in  the  Avon  and  the  Froom,  upon  which  rivers 
the  local  government,  supremely  indiflferent  to  sanitary 
details  down  to  the  close  oi  the  seventeenth  century,  threw 
the  functions  of  common  sewers.  "  Washing  places,'*  such 
as  may  still  be  seen  in  continental  towns,  were  maintained 
I  on  the  sides  of  the  Froom  for  housewives  of  the  labouring 
class,  and  were  used  at  ebb-tide  just  as  William  Worcester 
described  two  centuries  before.  With  the  exception  of  the 
new  streets  that  had  recent!}^  sprung  up^on  the  site  of  the 
Castle,  the  extent  of  the  town  was  almost  unchanged.  The 
!  increased  population,  whatever  was  its  amount,  had  oc- 
^  casioned  no  proportionate  increase  of  area.  The  circuit  of 
the  defences,  with  the  ancient  extensions  around  St.  James's 
Church  and  the  Cathedral,  sufficed  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  inhabitants.  Saving  half  a  dozen  houses  edging  what 
is  now  called  Park  Row — then  the  only  carriage  road  to 
Clifton  Church — and  a  few  cottages  in  Frog  Lane,  the  slope 
of  ground  extending  from  the  Royal  Fort  to  the  harbour 
was  occupied  by  orchards,  fields,  and  gardens.  Stoke 's 
Croft  was  a  rural  promenade,  having  fields  on  either  side, 
and  was  sheltered  from  the  summer  sun  by  rows  of  trees. 
Kingsdown  was  literally  a  down,  ramblers  on  which  beheld 
a  "  grove  "  of  church  steeples  on  the  one  hand  and  stretches 
of  pasture  land  and  orchards  on  the  other.  More  to  the  west, 
the  city-ended  near  St.  Michaers  Church  and  at  College 
Green.^  Clifton  "on  the  hill"  was  divided  into  about  a 
I  dozen  dairy  farms,  separated  here  and  there  by  unenclosed 
^common,  gay  with  furze  blossom.  A  single  mansion,  the 
^  ''Manor  House,  stood  near  the  church,  and  another  in  Clifton 
Wood.  Around  them  straggled  a  few  cottages,  the  inmates 
of  which  earned  a  little  money  from  the  parish  by  killing 
the  foxes,  polecats,  and  hedgehogs  that  strayed  from  the 
downs  into  the  cultivated  fields.  Even  in  the  low-lying 
^district,  although  a  few  lodging-houses  had  sprung  up  for 
.*the  accommodation  of  visitors  to  the  Hot  Well,  the  road  from 
College  Green,  until  far  into  the  century,  ran  between 
gardens,  dotted  at  intervals  by  houses.     Bedminster  was 


1700.]  IN   THE   EIOHTMNTH   CENTURY.  3 

even  more  isolated  than  Clifton.  Ogilby,  in  his  Road-book 
dated  1698,  stated  that  a  clear  space  of  half  a  mile  separated 
the  city  from  the  village.  As  may  be  seen  from  Buck's 
view  of  the  city,  Redcliflf  and  Temple  Gates  looked  upon 
open  country  so  late  as  1730.  In  fact,  Bristol  had  only  one 
real  suburb — the  district  lying  beyond  Lawford's  Gate, 
inhabited  by  a  few  hundred  weavers,  colliers,  and  market 
gardeners. 

The  streets  of  the  old  city  had  been  laid  out  at  a  period 
when  the  inland  traffic  of  the  country  was  exclusively 
carried  on  by  means  of  pack  horses,  and  when  the  wealthiest 
travellers  moved  from  place  to  place  on  horseback.  The 
average  breadth  between  the  base  of  the  houses  in  the 
busiest  thoroughfares  was  under  twenty  feet,  while,  owing 
to  the  practice  of  constructing  the  upper  storeys  so  as  to 
overhang  the  lower,  the  width  was  often  greatly  diminished^ 
towards  the  roofs.  The  central  portion  of  Wine  Street  was  1 
of  exceptional  breadth,  but  upon  this  spot  the  Corporation  I 
had  placed  a  market  house,  which,  with  the  pump,  a  I 
whipping  post,  and  the  frequent  erection  of  a  pillory,  left-' 
the  locality  little  better  off  than  its  neighbours.  Building 
stone  being  expensive,  owing  to  the  cost  of  transport,  and 
.Iricks  being  rarely. made  in  the  district,  houses  had  been 
almost  exclusively  constructed  of  timber,  with  an  outer 
covering  of  plaster.  An  order  of  the  Common:  Gotmcil  in 
nr03iferbade  the  use  of  thatch  for  roofs ;  but  it  is  certain  \^ 
that  slates  and  tiles  were  then  in  general  use.  The  leading 
streets  were  "paved  with  rough  blocks  oT'lstone,  but  there 
were  no  footpaths  for  pedestrians ;  and  owing  to  the  cease- 
less passage  of  trucks  and  sledges,  called  geehoes  (the  only 
vehicles  permitted  for  moving  goods  in  the  centre  of  the 
city),  the  roadways  were  so  slippery  in  wet  weather  as  to  be 
a  fertile  cause  of  accidents.  The  channel  for  carrying  off 
water  was  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  and  was  often  filled 
with  mud.  (Two  generations  after  this  date,  two  woollen 
drapers'  apprentices,  one  of  whom,  Matthew  Brickdale,  was  — 
to  be  many  years  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  city, 
were  accustomed  to  play  a  nocturnal  joke  on  their  neigh- 
bours by  sweeping  the  filth  of  the  High  Street  gutter  under 
the  dark  and  narrow  pass  of  St.  Nicholas's  Gate,  with  results 
to  unwary  pedestrians  that  may  be  imagined.)  The  shops 
had  massive  projecting  heads,  called  penthouses  or  bulks, 
which  were  often  very  low  and  inconvenient  to  passengers. 
The  shops  themselves,  with  few  exceptions,  were  without 
the  protection  of  windows,  and  quite  open,  like  butchers' 


/ 


4  THE  AKKALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1700. 

shambles  of  the  present  day.  Occasionally  they  were 
furnished  with  "lattices/'  of  chequered  willow  or  laths, 
which  must  have  increased  the  gloom  caused  by  the  pent- 
house and  the  overhanging  roof.  In  many  of  those  places 
of  business  articles  were  not  merely  sold,  but  made,  for  the 
simple  retailer  was  still  uncommon.  In  every  thoroughfare, 
therefore,  prevailed  the  discordant  noises  of  smiths^ 
coopers^  braziers',  and  joiners'  hammers,  the  click  of  looms, 

^  and  the  burr  of  lathes ;  while  wayfarers  were  regaled  with 
the  penetrating  fumes  of  the  soap  boiler,  the  tallow  chandler, 
and  the  dyer.    Eire^  Saturday,  Wine  Street,  BwMuLStreet, 

"^  and  High  Street  were  blocked  bythe markets  for  butchers' 
Ineatf  butter,  fowls^  vegetahledi^and  other  produce,  that  were 
^eld  in  those  thoroughfares ;  and  fruit  women  screamed, 
porters  fought,  and  garbage  accumulated  in  heaps  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Council  House.  The  streets  were  resonant 
v/  at  all  times  with  the  bawlings  of  hawkers  and  petty  dealers. 
Crowds  of  boys,  who  knew  as  little  of  school  as  of  a  palace, 

Sursued  their  rough  sport  in  the  most  crowded  localities, 
'here  was  no  protection  against  the  brutality  of  truck  and 
sledge  drivers,  the  manoeuvres  of  pickpockets,  or  the  knavery 
of  ring-droppers.  The  laws  against  vagrancy  were  severe ; 
so  late  as  1729  the  magistrates  sentenced  an  incorrigible 
vagrant  to  three  years'  hard  labour  in  the  house  of  correc- 
tion ;  but  the  number  and  the  importunacy  of  professional 
beggars  were  ceaseless  nuisances.  One  other  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  locomotion  remains  to  be  noticed.  In  spite  of 
the  authorities,  the  streets  coiild  not  be  kept  clear  of  the 
numerous  pigs  belonging  to  careless  housekeepers.  On  one 
occasion  the  Corporation  paid  a  fee  to  an  officer  "for  cutting 
off  the  tails  "  of  these  wandering  scavengers ;  but  neither 
the  maiming  of  the  animals  nor  the  fining  of  their  owners 
was  of  much  avail;  and  irrepressible  porkers  are  heard  of 
from  time  to  time  to  the  very  end  of  the  century. 

A  more  picturesque  feature  of  the  time  was  due  rather  to 
necessity  than  to  a  desire  to  please  the  eye.  In  an  age 
when  not  only  the  working  classes,  but  practically  the  whole 
of  the  rural  population  and  no  small  number  of  petty  traders, 
were  unable  to  read,  a  conspicuous  shop  sign  was  indis- 
pensable as  a  guide  to  customers.  These  ensigns,  suspended 
over  the  roadway,  were  of  varied  designs,  and,  as  enter- 
prising shopkeepers  declined  to  be  eclipsed  by  their  neigh- 
bours, there  was  often  a  rivalry  as  to  size.  From  numberless 
advertisements  dating  from  1700  to  1760,  when  the  practice 
began  to  lose  favour,  an  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  curious 


1700.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  5 

medley  of  figures  which  sought  to  catch  the  eye  of  spectators. 
Lions,  spread-eagles,  griffins,  elephants  and  tigers  were  to 
be  seen  of  every  tint.     Suns,  moons,  and  stars  were  equally 
popular.       Wheat-sheaves,     bee-hives,    horses,    blackbirds, 
grasshoppers,  dogs,  hares,  and  various  agricultural  imple- 
ments courted  the  attention  of  country  patrons.     A  mercer 
sported  an  entire  "  Turkish  Bashaw  " ;  a  jeweller  rejoiced  in 
a  Golden  Boy ;  and  a  calendeu:  displayed  a  Watering  Roll, 
whatever  that  may  have  been.     A  great  number  of  trades- 
men flaunted  a  double  device,  such  as  the  Tye  Wig  and 
Griffin  of  a  barber ;  the  Hand  and  Pen  of  a  schoolmaster ; 
the  Half  Moon  and  Wheat-sheaf  of  a  drapgr  j  and  the  .Sffiord 
and-^5r6wn  oFa  cutler?   Booksellers  frequently  adopted  the 
Bible  and  Sun ;   and"  at  least  one  undertaker  set   up  the  '"^ — 
lugubrious  representation  of  a  Coffin  and  Shroud.    Even  the 
business  of  tne  stampoffice  was  conducted  " at  the  sign  of 
the  King's  Arms."     Wood  carvers  and  painters  must  have 
reaped  a  good  harvest  in  carrying  out  the  eccentric  concep- 
tions of  their  patrons,  for  it  appears  that  some  of  the  signs 
cost  from  £20  to  £40  each.     Whatever  may  have  been  the 
artistic  results  of  their  labours,  the  swinging  designs,  which 
from  mom  till  eve  threw  moving  shadows  over  the  pave- 
ment,  must  have   presented   a  quaint  attractiveness    and 
variety  now  entirely  lost.    A  serious  inconvenience,  how- 
ever, was  occasioned  by  the  display.     Only  a  scanty  supply 
of  lamps  was  provided  for  the  public,  and  the  lights  were 
frequently  so  eclipsed  by  the  overhanging  signs  as  to  be 
practically  useless. 

Bristol  in  1700  was  on  the  point  of  attaining  the  position  4- 
of  second  city  in  the  kingdom.    Until  the  Restoration  she 
had  been  surpcwsed  by  York  and  Norwich ;  but  the  subse- 
quent development  of  commerce  with  America  and   the 
West  Indies  gradually  secured  her  an  unquestioned  supre-  ^ 
macy.     Exfim^iii-  I7Q0,  howerer ,~the^wealth  of  Nooadch  ap=^ 
pears  to  have  equallftd  th^^^-  f>f  BHstoV  Tntlre'previous  year, 
'^e\aouse  of  (Jommons^  in  granting  a  vote  of  money  for  the 
navy,  fixed"  the  amount  to  be  contributed  by  each  county 
and  important  town ;  and  the  figures,  which  were  doubtless  ^ 
based  on  the  best  statistics  then  available,  are  of  considerable 
interest.     It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say   that  Liverpool, 
Manchester,  Leeds,  Sheffield,  and  Birmingham  do  not  ap- 
pear in  the  return,  being  included,  like  other  small  towns, 
in  their  respective  counties.     The  four  chief  cities  assessed 
were :— ITOTwich,  for  £4,259 ;  Bristol,  £3,695;  Exeter,  £2,354;    .; 
and  York,  £2,319.    Other  western  towns  were : — Gloucester, 


^ 


6  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1700. 

£69B ;  Wells,  £241 ;  Bath,  £221 ;  Bridgwater,  £183.  The 
population  of  the  42  pariibe9-o|  Norwich,  from  an  actual 
enumeration,  was  abouK29/XX),  '  Lord  Macaulay  estimated 
the  inhabitants  of  BristoTm  1685  at  the  same  number ;  but 
it  will  be  shown  further  on  that  the  calculation  was  exces- 
sive.    The  actual- population  in  1700  waa-ahoui;S5,0Q0.' 

In  point  of  commerce  the  superiority  of  Bristol  over  all 
her  provincial  rivals  was  beyond  dispute.     Some  statistics 

Sublished  by    a    Government    official.    Captain  Grenville 
ioUins,  based  on  the  Custom  House  returns  for  1701-2,  give 
the  following  details  respecting  the  principal  outports : — 


hipe. 

Average 

Tonnage. 

165 

105 

163 

73 

115 

66 

102 

85 

148 

69 

,,r.  /      '    I  Bristol 
Ml  Newcastle 

HuU 

Liverpool 

Yarmouth 

Glasgow,  in  1700,  had  no  ships,  and  its  exports — confined 
to  a  few  barrels  of  herrings  and  a  few   pieces  of  coarse 
woollens — were  shipped  in  vessels  belonging  to  Whitehaven. 
-   According  to  contemporary  statements  of  good  authority, 
Bristol  was  the  only  port  which  could  pretend  to  enter  into 
competition  with  London,  and  was  able  to  trade  with  entire 
V  ^independence  of  the  capital.     In  part  this  was  due  to  the 
remarkable  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  trading  classes  of 
the  city,  who,  not  content  with  supplying  the  demands  of 
the  district,  competed  with  their  London  rivals  in  the  pro- 
.  vinces,  and  conducted  an  inland  trade  in  the  southern  and 
^/  midland  counties,  from  Southampton  to  the  Trent,  by  means 
irt>f  their  own  carriers.     They   did  not,   moreover,   confine 
/   themselves  to  domestic  enterprise.     Roger  North,  who,  as 
Recorder  of  Bristol,  had  means  of  obtaining  good  informa- 
tion, observed  twenty  years  before  this  date  that  petty  local 
shopkeepers,  selling  candles  and  the  like,  would  venture  a 
'l)ale  of  stockings  or  a  piece  of  stuflT  in  a  cargo  bound  for 
J{evis  or  Virginia.     It  will  be  seen  later  on  that  Savage,  in 
^/his  rancorous  satire  of  1743,  alleged  that  Bristol  freights 
/were  owned,  not  by  merchants,  but  by  mechanics.    A  keener 
^observer,  in  a  "Journey  through  England,"  published  in 
".  .    1724^  remarked  that  "  The  very  Parsons  of  Bristol  talk  of 
^  (    nothing  but  Trade,  and  how  to  turn  the  Penny."     To  a  cer- 
tain extent,  the  speculations  of  persons  outside  the  mercan- 
tile class  must  have   added  to  the   aggregate  commercial 
returns  of  the  port,  and  may  have  extended  that  taste  for 


1700.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  7 

display  to  be  referred  to  presently.  In  other  directions 
Bristoiians  were  keenly  attentive  to  the  progress  of  industry 
^adjnanuiactures^-and  so  seldom  let  slip  a  new  chance  6f 
profitable  enterprise  that  aoxne  envious  observer  attributed 
to  them-the  power  of  sleeping  with  one  eye  open.  The  im- 
portation of  French  brandy  having  been  stoppedUuring  the 
war  of  1689-96,  the  cheapness  of  coal  (2.9.  to  28,  6d.  per  ton) 
encouraged  the  erection  of  numerous  local  distilleries.  In 
the  manufacture  of  glass,  which  was  then  in  its  infancy  in 
this  country,  the  city  soon  took  a  leading  position.  Some- 
what later,  a  few  Bristol  merchants,  having  discovered  that 
copi^er  ore  was  thrown  aside  as  worthless  by  the  Cornish  tin 
miners,  set  up  the  manufacture  of  brass  and  the  refining  of 
copper  on  the  Froom  and  Avon,  securing  great  profits  for 
themselves,  and  opening  out  a  new  field  of  labour  to  the 
working  classes.  More  than  one  eflfort  was  made  to  estab- 
lish manufactories  of  cotton  fabrics.  Several  notices  occur 
of  salt  refiners,  carpet  weavers,  silt  and  velvet  weavers, 
drugget  makers.  A  pottery  for  making  imitation  Delft  ware 
was  opened  about  1703,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  in  Eng- 
land. These  and  other  similar  adventures  were  but  supple- 
ments to  the  old  industries  of  the  city — the  weaving  of 
cloths,  friezes,  and  fustians,  the  building  of  ships,  the  refining 
of  sugar,  and  the  manufacture  of  soap,  tobacco,  tobacco 
pipes,  and  pins ;  but  they  added  sensibly  to  the  general 
activity  of  commerce  and  the  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  development  of  the  port  would  have  been  even  more 
rapid  than  it  was  but  for  the  erroneous  views  of  political 
economy  which  then  prevailed.  For  many  years  importa- 
tions of  Irish  cattle,  meat,  butter,  and  cheese  were  absolutely 
prohibited  as  a  "  publick  and  common  nuisance."  In  times 
of  scarcity  the  restriction  was  relaxed,  but  in  1696,  during 
a  severe  dearth,  when  the  Corporation  petitioned  the  Govern- 
ment for  leave  to  import  B,OC)0  bushels  of  Irish  grain  duty 
free,  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  poor,  the  appeal  met  with 
an  emphatic  negative.  The  entry  of  even  lean  cattle,  pro- 
hibited about  the  same  date,  put  an  end  to  a  profitable  local 
trade  ;  and  in  1699  the  import  of  Irish  woollen  goods  was 
interdicted  under  a  penalty  of  £500  and  forfeiture  of  the 
vessel. 

Gregory  King,  whose  statistics  were  compiled  with  care, 
and  were  generally  accepted  as  trustworthy,  estimated  that 
in  1688  the  profits  of  "eminent"  English  merchants  averaged 
£400,  those  of  the  lesser  merchants  £200,  and  those  of  shop- 
keepers £46  per  annum.     As  trade  made  rapid  strides  after 


^ 


\ 


I 


8  THE   ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

the  peace  of  Ryswick,  it  is  probable  that  King's  figures 
ought  to  be  increased  by  a  fourth  to  represent  the  average 
returns  of  1700.  Even  after  making  this  correction  the 
estimated  incomes  seem  small ;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  rate  of  wages  (about  is.  a  day)  and  the  price  of  the 
necessaries  of  life  were  correspondingly  moderate.  What- 
ever may  have  been  their  incomes,  the  Bristol  merchants  of 
^e  time  were  famous  for  their  love  of  display.  In  spite  of 
the  narrowness  of  the  streets,  many  of  the  upper  classes 
touded  in  private  carriages^  which  were  then  a  great 
^ixury.     (It  is  somewhat  surprising  to  find  from  the  records 

;^  oiHie  oociety  of  Friends  that  in  1699  wealthy  Quakers  were 
accustomed  on  Sundays  to  proceed  to  chapel  in  their  own 

\  coaches.)  The  baptism  of  children  was  an  especial  occasion 
for  feasting  and  ostentation.  According  to  a  custom  of  the 
city,  the  religious  ceremony  took  place  at  the  house  of  the 
parents,  in  the  presence  of  as  many  friends  and  relatives  as 
could  be  accommodated,  and  was  followed  by  a  copious  dis- 
tribution of  caudle.  Every  family  which  respected  itself 
had  a  large  silver  caudle  cup,  and  many  had  two  or  three. 
The  practice  of  entertaining  large  parties  to  dinner  in  pri- 
vate houses  had  not  yet  become  fashionable ;  but  strangers, 
as  Mr.  Pepys'  diary  shows,  were  sometimes  oiSered  generous 
hospitality,  and  made  agreeable  acquaintance  with  the  far- 
famed  Bristol  milk.  Other  visitors,  it  is  true,  refer  to  the 
manners  of  the  citizens  in  less  complimentary  terms.  Thus 
Mr.  Marmaduke  Bawdon,  a  York  merchant,  who  made  a 
tour  in  the  West  about  the  same  time  as  Pepys,  remarks  of 
Bristol : — "  In  this  city  are  many  proper  men,  but  very  few 
handsome  women,  and  most  of  them  ill-bred,  being  generally, 
men  and  women,  very  proud,  not  affable  to  strangers,  but 
rather  much  admiring  themselves,  so  that  an  ordinary 
fellow  who  is  but  a  freeman  of  Bristol  conceits  himself  to  be 
as  grave  as  a  senator  of  Rome,  and  very  sparing  of  his  hat ; 
^  I  insomuch  that  their  preachers  have  told  them  of  it  in  the 
\l  pulpit." 

J  But  it  was  especially  at  funerals  that  wealthy  families 
were  prone  to  indulge  in  costly  parade.  Roger  North,  who 
seems  to  have  taken  a  grudge  against  the  citizens  during 
his  judicial  connection  with  them,  and  who  never  lacked 
acrimony  in  criticising  those  whom  he  disliked,  alleged  that 
the  vanity  of  Bristolians  incited  them  to  an  extravagance 
"beyond  imagination.''  "A  man,"  he  wrote,  "who  dies 
worth  £300  will  order  £200  to  be  laid  out  on  his  funeral 
procession."     Unfortunately  for  the  censor's  credit  for  accu- 


• 


1700.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  9 

racy,  the  wills  of  the  Bristolians  of  his  time  may  still  be  read, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  his  assertion  is  not  verified  by  a 
single  testament.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  traders  in  easy 
circumstances  directed  that  their  burial  should  be  conducted 
"  decently,"  at  the  discretion  of  their  executors,  who,  being 
generally  relatives  and  legatees,  had  no  temptation  to  act 
wastefully.  Many  others  stipulated  that  their  funeral  ex- 
penses should  not  exceed  £20  or  £30.  Women  were  more 
disposed  than  the  ruder  sex  to  follow  the  pompous  customs  of 
the  wealthy.  A  lady,  who  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
rich,  directed  that  "  at  least "  £60  should  be  spent  on  her 
burial,  exclusive  of  £18  for  a  collation  for  six  bearers,  £9  to 
be  distributed  to  the  poor,  and  £10  to  two  women  who  were 
to  accompany  the  hearse.  Other  instances  of  feminine 
vanity  in  the  same  rank  of  life  indicate  the  outlay  that  took 
place  amongst  the  leading  mercantile  grandees.  All  the  ) 
friends  of  a  deceased  merchant  were  invited  to  his  interment,  / 
and  were  often  provided  with  gold  rings  and  mourning ;  a 
great  number  of  poor  people  received  money  and  food,  and  \ 
were  furnished  with  hats  and  cloaks  for  taking  part  in  the 
procession.  The  consumption  of  "  funeral  baked  meats,"  as 
well  as  of  wine  and  other  liquors,  was  profuse  on  such  occa- 
sions ;  and  from  a  deprecatory  minute  in  the  records  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  at  Frenchay,  smoking  seems  to  have  been 
an  ordinary  incident  in  the  proceedings.  The  great  funerals 
took  place  at  or  about  midnight,  the  coffin  being  borne  along 
the  streets  with  all  the  pomp  of  escutcheons,  sconces,  wax-  l 
lights,  flambeaux,  plumes,  pennons,  and  mutes.  The  tolling  \ 
of  the  parish  bell  before  the  ceremony  must  have  been  a  ' 
dreary  infliction  on  the  neighbourhood,  for  an  economical 
mercer,  desirous  of  avoiding  display,  ordered  in  his  will  that 
the  bell  at  his  interment  should  not  toll  "  above  six  hours." 
The  funeral  service  was  followed  by  a  sermon,  for  which 
testators  left  from  one  to  six  guineas  to  a  favourite  clergy-  /, 
man,  frequently  stipulating  that  he  should  preach  on  a  text  ^  - 
selected  by  themselves.  Another  item  of  expense  may  be 
mentioned.  To  gratify  the  clothing  interest,  an  Act  of 
Parliament  was  passed  in  1678  requiring  every  dead  body 
to  be  buried  in  a  woollen  shroud.  But,  as  Pope's  well  known 
verses  show,  ladies  thought  the  enactment  fit  to  "  provoke 
a  saint,"  and  some  of  them  in  Bristol  ordered  their  executors 
to  pay  the  fine  of  i;6,  and  bury  them  "  honourably."  The 
unseemly  show  and  dissipation  of  funeral  ceremonies  was 
then  common  to  all  wealthy  communities,  but  it  certainly 
seems  to  have  been  abnormal  in  Bristol.     As  an  illustration, 


10  THE   AKNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1700. 

it  may  be  stated  that  in  1699  a  gentleman  named  Taylor, 
the  owner  of  about  thirty  houses  in  various  parts  of  the  city, 
ordered  that  half  a  year's  rent  of  all  his  property  should  be 
applied  to  the  discharge  of  his  funeral  expenses.  His  con- 
temporary, Alderman  Lawford,  left  instructions  that  eighty 
poor  men  should  be  provided  with  gowns,  hats,  and  shoes  in 
order  to  attend  his  burial,  and  that  the  grocers  of  the  city 
who  took  part  in  the  ceremony  should  be  furnished  with  a 
dinner.  In  another  will,  of  1706,  there  is  a  curious  conflict 
between  personal  economy  and  family  conceit.  Thomas  Ivy, 
"  gentleman,'*  also  a  considerable  owner  of  house  property, 
began  his  testament  by  ordering  £B0  to  be  spent  on  his 
burial  in  St.  Nicholas's  Church.  Before  the  will  was  finished, 
however,  his  vanity  got  the  uppermost,  and  he  determined, 
*'  for-as-much  as  I  have  a  desire  to  be  buried  in  such  manner 
as  my  father  was,"  to  increase  the  outlay  to  £100.  Many 
undertakers'  bills  of  that  period  having  been  preserved,  it 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  an  outlay  of  £100  in  170(5  was 
equivalent  to  nearly  thrice  that  sum  in  a  funeral  account  of 
the  present  day. 

The  entertainment  of  friends  at  baptisms  and  burials 
being  so  generally  practised,  one  might  suppose  that  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  the  citizens'  dwellings  would  be 
commensurate  with  the  feasting  which  took  place  in  them. 
But  such  was  certainly  not  the  case.  With  the  exception 
of  large  displays  of  silver  plate,  to  be  referred  to  presently, 
the  furniture  of  a  tradesman's  house  was  generaUy  as  rude 
in  quality  as  it  was  meagre  in  quantity.  Many  contempo- 
rary wills  show  the  extreme  simplicity  of  the  arrangements, 
and  the  description  of  Bath  dwellings  given  by  John  Wood, 
in  his  account  of  that  city  in  1727,  applied  with  equal  truth 
to  those  of  Bristol  a  quarter  of  a  century  earlier.  The  floors 
of  dining  rooms,  says  Wood,  were  destitute  of  carpets,  and 
were  stained,  to  hide  the  dirt,  with  soot  and  small  beer ; 
the  walls  were  of  mean  wainscot,  never  painted  ;  the  fire- 

S laces  and  hearths  were  daily  daubed  with  whitewash. 
!ane  or  rush  chairs,  oaken  tables,  coarse  woollen  or  linen 
hangings,  and  a  small  mirror  constituted  the  chief  garniture 
of  the  apartment.  The  equipment  of  the  bedrooms  was 
equally  common  and  scanty ;  the  best  chambers  for  gentle- 
men, according  to  Wood,  being  no  better  than  the  servants' 
garrets  of  the  middle  of  the  century.  Allusion  having  been 
made  to  servants,  it  may  be  amusing  to  note  the  advice 
given  by  Mr.  Gary,  a  Bristol  merchant  who  wrote  an  "  Es- 
say on  Trade  "  in  1696,  in  reference  to  menials.     **  As  for 


1700.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  11 

maid  servants,"  he  said,  "let  them  be  restricted  from  excess 
in  apparel,  and  not  permitted  to  leave  their  services  without 
consent,  nor  be  entertained  by  others  without  testimonials : 
this  will  make  them  more  orderly  and  governable  than  they 
now  are.'*  While  as  to  men,  **  no  servant  should  be  permit- 
ted to  wear  a  sword,  except  when  travelling ;  and  if  all 
people  of  mean  qualities  were  prohibited  the  same,  'twould 
be  of  good  consequence." 

Taking   a   more    comprehensive   view  of  the  social  and 
domestic  peculiarities  of  Bristol,  so  far  as  they  can  be  gath- 
ered from  contemporary  documents,  it  will  be  found  that 
what  has  been  said  of  the  material  aspect  of  the  city  applies 
also  to  the  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  that  the  society  of  1700  more  closely  resembled  ' 
that  of  the  Middle  Ages  than  that  of  our  own  times.    In  the 
first  place,  although  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  citi- 
zens were  noted  by  every  visitor,  and  although  a  knowledge"7 
of  what  was  passing  in  the  world  must  have  been  of  great  I 
interest  to  the  mercantile  classes,  the  town,  like  every  other  ^    ^ 
provincial  town  in  the  kingdom,  was  without  a  newspaper.^ 
It  is  true  that,  if  a  local  chronicle  had  existed,  its  circula- 
tion must  have  been  limited  ;  for  a  vast  majority  of  Bristo- 
lians  were  "  as  illiterate  as  the  back  of  a  tombstone."    There 
were  two  or  three  bookshops  in  the  city,  or,  rather,  shops  at 
which  stationers  undertook   to   obtain   books  if  they  were 
ordered  ;  and  John  Dunton,  the   garrulous   London   book- 
seller, states  in  his  curious  autobiography  that  he  regularly 
opened  a  stall  at  Bristol  fair.    But  local  purchasejs  fi:enerally   ^\^ 
contented  themselves  with  almanacks,  sermons,  pamphlets,  /  "• 
and  otlier  fugitive  ^bJicatTons:     Gtfirffymen^  ministers,  and 
medical  practitioners  relerTnT  their  wills  to  their  **  closet  of 
books  " ;  but  literary  property  is  conspicuous  from  its  ab- 
sence in  the  testaments  of  well-to-do  traders.   A  few  thought- 
fQl   merchants  may  have   amused   their  leisure   with   the 
poems  of  Milton  or  Drj'den,  the  "Mariner's  Magazine,"  or 
Purchases  collection  of  voyages;  but  many  artisans  of  the 
present  day  possess  a  wider  range  of  literature  than  could 
be  found  on  the  best  furnished  local  book  shelves  of  1700. 
In  only  one  of  the  wills  in  the  Bristol  Prerogative  Office 
dated  before  that  year,  that  of  a  Quaker  grocer,  is  there  a 
bequest  of  a  book  (it  was  Eushworth's  Collections).     For 
many  later  years,  the  only  volume  that  testators  seemed  to     >* 
have  owned,  was  a  Bible,  with  perhaps  a  Book  of  Common 
Jrayer.     The  lack  of  literature  is  sumciently  accounted  for 
by  the   general  deficiency  of  education.     In  Queen  Eliza- 


12  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1700. 

y  beth's  hospital  thirty-six  boys  received  the  barest  elements 
of  schooling.    In  the  Bed  Maids'  institution  forty  poor  girls 
were  taught  to  read,  but  not  to  write,  by  two  mistresses, 
one  of  whom  could  not  sign  her  own  name,  and  the  other 
appended  an  unsightly  blotch,  to  the  quarterly  receipts  for 
their  salaries  of  £5  each.     It  is  possible  that  aoout  a  dozen 
children  were  received  in  Bedcliff  Grammar  School,  and  a 
school  maintained  by  Cole's  trustees  on  St.  James's  Back 
may  have  benefitted  as  many  more.     The  records  of  both 
institutions  are  lost ;  it  is  only  known  that  the  former  was 
not  always  open,  and  that  the  latter  was  closed  about  1700. 
Saving  this  provision,  the  many  thousand  children  of  arti- 
sans and  labourers  were  destitute  of  the  means  of  instruc- 
tion.    The  first  bequest  towards  the  foundation  of  a  parish 
school  (there  were  only  two  such  institutions  in  London  in 
1697)  appears  in  the  will  of  a  Miss  Mary  Gray,  of  Temple, 
who,  in  1699,  left  £50  for  the  purchase  of  land,  the  rent  of 
yWhich,  after  deducting  6«.  8rf.  for  a  yearly  sermon,  was  to  be 
^'"'^^ voted  to  teaching  seven  poor  orphans  oi  that  parish  to  read. 
\  For  the  boys  of  tradesmen  and  others,  there  was  the  Gram- 
1  mar  School,  with  three  or  four  private  "  writing  schools,"  but 
\  the  first  mention  of  a  school  for  girls  does  not  occur  until 
Vseveral  years  later.     It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find 
that  many  men  in  prosperous  circumstances,   purchasing 
leases  from,  or  lending  money  to,  the  Corporation,  and  dis- 
posing of  large  sums  in  their  wills — some  of  them  being 
styled  gentlemen,  merchants,  tobacconists,  and  soapboilers — 
were  unable   to  write   their  own  names.     Churchwardens 
have  always  been  selected  from  the  "  substantiaP'  class' of 

^P(^  g^MriOners.     Yet  one  of  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Stephen's 

^      m  1702  was  unable  to  write,  and  the  civic  records  show  that 
so  late  as  1718  one  of  those  officials  for  St.  James's  parish 

^  attached  his  *'  mark "  to  a  receipt,  and  that  both  the 
churchwardens  for  St.  PhiUp's  displayed  the  same  illiteracy 
in  1725.  Some  of  the  men  who  conducted  private  schools 
would  not  a  century  later  have  been  deemed  fit  to  take  the 
management  of  a  charity  school,  for  their  extant  letters  and 
petitions  abound  with  grammatical  errors.  Their  pupils 
could  not  be  expected  to  surpass  them.  It  may  be  assumed 
that  the  clerks  of  the  Corporation  were  selected  from  the 
•  best-instructed  candidates  that  offered  themselves  on  a 
vacancy;  yet  the  civic  records  literally  swarm  with  blunders 
in  syntax  and  orthography.  Turning  to  the  other  sex, 
there  is  abundant  evidence  that,  even  amongst  the  widows 
of  mayors  and  the  sisters  and  daughters  of  knightly  alder- 


1700.]  IN   THB    EIOHTEEMTH   CENTURY.  13 

men,  an  ability  to  write  was,  in  1700,  unusual.  As  a  safe- 
guard against  fraud,  those  incapable  of  subscribing  their 
signatures  possessed  signet  rings,  or  seals  bearing  their 
arms,  and  often  learnt  to  form  two  rudely  shaped  Boman 
letters,  the  initials  of  their  name,  which  were  appended  to 
documents  as  their  "  mark."  Wealthy  testators  of  this  class 
almost  invariably  disposed  of  gold  coins,  jewellery,  and  silver 
plate  to  an  extent  which  at  the  first  glance  seems  astound- 
ing. The  explanation,  however,  is  not  hard  to  find.  No 
facilities  then  existed  for  the  profitable  investment  of  the 
savings  of  a  household;  many  cautious-  pooplo  declined  to 
entrust  their  spare  money  to  the  goldsmiths  and_.other 
tiSders  who  carried  on  the  business  of  bankersj^ahd,  as  the 
most  convenient  resource,  purchases  "were^made  from  time 
to  time  of  substantifid  gold  coins  or  articles  of  plate,  which 
could  be  relied  upon  to  fetch  their  value  in  an  emergency. 
In  this  way  tradesmen  and  owners  of  house  property  often 
hoarded  a  surprising  quantity  of  old  "  broad  pieces,"  "  scep- 
tre guineas,"  ''Jacobuses"  and  "Caroluses,"  that  had  ceased, 
to  circulate  as  current  coin,  together  with  a  rich  store  of 
silver  beakers,  bowls,  cups,  tankards,  salvers  and  salt  cellars,  j 
which  were  distributed  by  will  amongst  their  surviving  re- 
latives. The  profusion  of  gold  rings,  which  also  formed 
part  of  the  "  portable  property  "  of  the  period,  was  due  to 
a  less  excusable  custom.  Amongst  the  indispensable  features 
of  a  pompous  funeral  was  the  gift  of  rings  to  those  invited 
to  the  ceremony.  On  the  occasion  of  an  interment  in  1704, 
Luttrell  noted  in  his  diary  that  1,600  rings  were  presented 
to  the  deceased's  friends  and  acquaintances.  And  as  in  the 
case  of  an  eminent  Bristol  alderman  of  far  later  date,  when 
the  fashion  was  nearly  extinct,  91  gentlemen's  and  67  ladies* 
rings  were  distributed  by  his  executors,  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  elderly  citizens  of  1700,  outliving  many  acquaint- 
ances, became  possessed  of  more  rings  than  they  could  have 
displayed  on  their  fingers. 

The  Will  Office  furnishes  other  curious  information  re- 
specting the  habits  of  the  community.     Tea  and  coflTee  in  / 
1700  were  expensive  novelties  beyond  the  reach  of  ordinary/ 
households,   even   had   a    taste   lor  them   been   developed/ 
Their  place  at  the  breakfast  table  and  at  the  afternoon  meal 
was  supplied  by  beer,  the  reported  consumption  of  which 
would  seem  incredible  but  for  the  testimony  of  official  docu- 
ments.    The  price  of  malt  was  so  low,  and  the  duty  so 
trifling,  that  good  household  beer  was  produced  in  1690  at  a 
cost  of  under  twopence  per  gallon.     The  common-brewers' 


14  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

charge  for  strong  beer  in  1700,  when  the  duty  had  been  in- 
creased, was  only  sixpence  per  gallon.     The  best  ale,  by  an 
order  of  the  Corporation  in  1703,  was  to  be  sold  by  brewers 
at  38.  4d.  per  dozen  gallons,  being  less  than  a  penny  per 
quart;   and  common   qualities  were   to   be   vended   at  the 
"  accustomed  rates,"  which  probably  meant  about  one-half 
less.     Indeed,  by  an  Act  of  James  I.,  which  was  still  in  force, 
the  price  of  "  the  smaller  sort  of  beer ''  was  not  to  exceed 
one  halfpenny  per  quart.     The  cost  of  home-brewed  liquor 
being,  of  course,  much  below  the  price  charged  by  retailers, 
every  economical  upper-class  family,  and  the  bulk  of  the 
trading   community,   in   Bristol   as  elsewhere,  brewed   for 
home    consumption,   and    quite   one-half  of  the  enormous 
annual  total  was  produced  by  private  persons.     For  this 
purpose  nearly  every   household  boasted   of  **  great   brass 
pots,"  "  great  brass  kettles,"  "  great  bell-metal  crocks,"  and 
other  utensils,  the  cost  of  which  must  have  been  consider- 
able from  the  figure  they  make  in  testamentary  bequests. 
(A  brass  kettle  holding  "  about  16  or  18  gallons  "  was  stolen 
from  Long  Ashton  Court  in  1726.)     Smaller  articles  of  brass 
are  also  frequently  mentioned  ;  indeed,  as  the  art  of  casting 
iron  vessels  for  kitchen  purposes  was  unknown  in  England, 
and  as  tin  plates  were  also  a  foreign  import,  the  brazier  had 
a  practical   monopoly   of   this   branch   of  trade.     Equally 
flourishing  was  the  pewterer.     English  earthenware  makers 
had  not  advanced  beyond  the  manufacture  of  coarse  dairy 
pans,  loaf  sugar  moulds,  and  other  rude  utensils.     A  few 
Dutch  plates  and  dishes  were  imported  from  Delft,  but  were 
too  costly  and  fragile  to  be  popular.     The  first  Bristol  will 
bequeathing  dinner  crockery  was  made  in  1715,  and  it  is 
also  the  first  to  mention  table  glass.     The  earliest  bequest 
of  china  occurs  in  a  will  of  1703,  but  the  articles  were  prob- 
ably mere   chimney  ornaments.      The   dinner    services   of 
merchants  and   shopkeepers,   in   fact,   were   universally  of 
pewter,  of  which  some  families  could  exhibit  copious  stores. 
Pewter  platters  of  six  different  sizes  are  distributed  by  one 
testatrix.     Yeomen  and  artisans,  on  the  other  hand,  unwil- 
ling or  unable  to  buy  metal  plates  and  dishes,  continued  to 
eat   their  food  on  the  wooden  trenchers  that  had  served 
their  fathers,  and  perhaps  their  grandfathers,  and  in  their 
wills  divided  these  homely  articles  amongst  their  children. 
In  their  anxiety  to  avoid  the  cost  of  a  sale  by  auction,  in- 
deed, testators  condescended  to  a  minuteness  of  detail  which 
may  seem  amusing  to  a  later  age,  but  which  is  of  great  ser- 
vice for  the  light  it  throws,  negative  as  well  as  positive,  on 


1700.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  15 

the  habits  of  the  time.  All  the  furniture  in  a  house  is 
sometimes  described  by  its  departing  owner.  Some  men 
leave  their  best  periwig  to  one  relative,  and  their  second 
best  to  another.  Others  particularly  mention  their  various 
hats,  great  coats,  shirts  and  leather  breeches.  Ladies  re- 
count all  their  gowns,  good,  bad,  and  indiflferent,  and  there 
is  sometimes  a  precise  bequest  of  "  my  best  silk  petticoat," 
"  my  best  head  cloth ''  (a  prodigious  structure  a  foot  in 
height  and  costing  about  £20),  *'  my  green  say  apron,"  "my 
worst  little  bed,"  down  to  "  my  third  best  under-petticoat." 
As  an  illustration  of  this  custom,  and  also  as  affording  some 
evidence  of  the  personal  effects  of  a  wealthy  widow,  the  fol- 
lowing extract  is  taken  from  the  will  of  Sarah  Deane,  who 
in  1696  left  to  a  favourite  god-daughter  "  my  black  flowered 
silk  gowne  and  petticoat,  my  broadcloth  petticoat  with  a 
gold  fringe  thereon,  my  under  serge  petticoat  with  a  gold 
galoome  thereon,"  another  petticoat,  a  silver  great  tankard, 
some  other  plate,  a  "  brass  kettle  pot,"  other  brass  utensils, 
and  several  pewter  platters  and  plates;  while  to  this  legatee's 
brother  there  is  a  bequest — evidently  intended  as  a  compli- 
ment— of  "  a  Scarlett  petticoat  to  make  him  a  waistcoat." 
This  lady  appended  a  fine  armorial  seal  to  her  will,  but  was 
unable  to  write  her  name.  A  more  remarkable  legacy  ap- 
pears in  the  will  of  a  ship  captain  named  Nightingale,  who, 
in  1715,  devised  "  the  proceeds  of  his  two  boys  and  girls, 
then  on  board  his  ship.  Again,  a  merchant,  named  Becher 
Fleming,  in  October,  1718,  left  to  Mrs.  Mary  Becher  "  my 
negro  boy,  named  Tallow."  But  it  will  subsequently  be 
shown  that  negro  slaves  were  numerous  in  Bristol  until  far 
into  the  century. 

The  economical  instincts  of  the  age  come  into  prominence 
in  divers  social  arrangements.  The  only  source  of  artificial 
light  ordinarily  available  was  the  tallow  candle,  the  feeble 
gleam  of  which  was  hardly  worth  its  cost.  Evening  reading 
was  out  of  the  question  when  there  were  no  local  journals  or 
circulating  libraries,  and  when  most  households  were  with- 
out books.  Music  had  not  yet  become  an  item  of  a  young 
lady's  accomplishments,  and  the  only  musical  instrument 
mentioned  in  contemporary  wills  is  a  solitary  violin.  Gossip- 
ing over  the  fire  being  the  chief  amusement  of  an  evening 
circle,  staid  and  thrifty  heads  of  families,  abhorring  late  hours, 
were  naturally  fervent  believers  in  the  old  dictum  of  "early  to 
bed  and  early  to  rise."  In  Hippisley's  farce  of  •*  A  Journey 
to  Bristol,"  printed  in  1731,  and  played  too  often  before  the  \ 
citizens  to  have  been  a  mere  caricature,  Mr.  Doubtful,  the 


V 


16  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1700. 

local  merchant,  referring  to  his  wife's  frivolity  and  his  own 
good  nature,  observes,  "  Though  I  go  to  bed  at  eight  o'clock, 
I  let  you  sit  up  with  your  maid  till  ten."  If  this  was  held 
to  be  a  faithful  picture  of  life  in  1731,  it  is  certain  that  the 
hours  of  1700  were  earlier  still.  Probably  the  nine  o'clock 
curfew  of  St.  Nicholas  was  the  signal  for  the  most  belated 
Bristol ians  to  retire  to  rest.  On  the  other  hand,  the  citizens 
were  as  wakeful  as  the  "  bright  chanticleer  "  of  the  hunting 
song.  In  the  parochial  books  of  St.  Thomas  is  a  note  made 
by  the  vicar  in  1710,  for  the  guidance'  of  his  successors  in 
the  then  united  livings  of  Bed  minster,  St.  Mary  Redcliff, 
St.  Thomas  and  Leigh,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  he  ^'  did 
not  scruple  "  to  marry  couples  bringing  a  licence  at  any 
hour  "  after  four  or  five  in  the  morning."  The  ordinances 
of  the  Joiners'  Company  required  journeymen  to  begin  work 
\y  "  between  five  and  six."  An  advertisement  of  a  quack 
doctor,  of  1704,  notifies  that  he  receives  patients  every  morn- 
ing between  six  and  nine  o'clock.  By  order  of  the  Corpora- 
;ion,  the  boys  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital  rose  at  five 
o'clock  even  in  winter,  and  the  Grammar  School  boys  as- 
sembled during  the  summer  months  at  six  o'clock.  The 
courts  of  quarter  session  were  opened  at  seven  o'clock.  The 
tUommon  Council  assembled  at  nine  o'clock.'  The  first  meal 
of  the  day  must  therefore  have  been  disposed  of  in  what  a 
degenerate  posterity  may  term  the  middle  of  the  night.  The 
elements  of  a  modem  breakfast  being  unknown,  the  meal 
was  chiefly  composed,  as  it  had  been  composed  for  centuries, 
of  cold  meat  or  skimmed-milk  cheese,  according  to  the 
position  of  the  household,  and  bread,  accompanied  with  milk 
for  the  younger  members,  and  beer  for  the  adults.  The  food 
of  the  working  population  was  of  the  rudest  character.  A 
petition  of  the  Corporation  to  the  House  of  Commons,  dated 
1699,  stated  that  the  bread  eaten  by  labourers  was  chiefly 
made  from  barley,  whilst  Gregory  King  about  the  same 
time  estimated  that  half  the  working  classes  ate  animal  food 
only  twice  a  week,  while  the  other  half  scarcely  ate  it  at  all. 
One  cannot,  therefore,  be  surprised  at  the  great  consumption 
of  malt  liquor,  which  was  exceedingly  cheap  and  to  a  large 
extent  nourishing.  According  to  the  official  statistics  of 
I  1695,  the  quantity  of  beer  brewed  in  England  was  upwards 
I  of  40(8  million  gallons.  Taking  the  grown-up  population  at 
1  2,700,090,  the  production  averaged  over  a  quart  and  a  half 
daily  per  head,  for  women  as  well  as  men,  irrespective  of  a 
vast  consumption  of  cider. 

By  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  business  affairs 


1700.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  17' 

were  in  full  swing.     The  Merchants^  Tolzey,  a  mean  and 
narrow  pftiitho^i^'^^j^mTTCp  ATf  Saints^  Ohttrokj  waaiihrriixged 
with  sla^wners,  manufaoturerg,   and  traders ;  and.  Dsfod 
found  that^  "just  as  in  London/'  the   surrounding  tavern^ 
and    coflTee    houses    were    crowded  with    bargainers,   and  <-/v^ 
"  Bristol  milk,  which  is  Spanish  sherry,  nowhere  so  good  as  y^ 
ierej  j^lentifully  drunk."   The  narrowness  of  house  accommo- 
dation was  doubtless  one  of  the  causes  of  the  popularity  of 
these  places  of  resort.     Medical  men  and  lawyers  in  good 
practice,    being    without  convenient   consulting    rooms  at 
home,  were  to  be  conferred  with  at  their  favourite  taverns, 
and  the  habits  of  each  important  practitioner  were  generally  '^^ 
known.     Merchants,  whose  only  office  was  a  room  in  their 
dwellings,  found  the  coffee  houses  convenient  for  the  trans- 
action of  business.     Every  alternate  day,  at  irregular  hours, 
depending  upon  the  state  of  the  weather  and  the  roads,  the 
accidents  of  the  journey,  and  the  caprices  of  the  postboys 
and  the  sorry  nags  that  carried  them,  there  arrived  a  mail  ""^^ 
from  London,  with  a  handful  of  letters  and  newspapers,  the     . 

contents  of  which  gave  an  additional  spur  to  the  prevailing / 

animation.     The  newspapers,  about  tlie  size  of  a  sheet  of 
lejbter  paper,  went  chiefly  to  the  coffee  houses,  where  any  one 
found,  admittance  by  the  payment  of  a  penny  for  a  tiny  cup 
of  Mocha.     If.  the  intelligence  of  the  day  was  exceptionally 
interesting,  it  was  readHoud  for  the  benefit  of  the  company. 
In~'times  of  peace,  however,   as  in  1700,  the  humble  cnrori- 
icles  offered  nothing  more  exciting  to  their  subscribers  than  X 
the  rates  of  exchange,  a  list  of  bankrupts,  the  price  of  stocks,  I 
an  account  of  a  robbery,  or  the  execution  of  a  highwayman.  ^ 
By  midday  every  citizen  was  ready  for  dinner  (the  Grammar 
School  boys  dispersed  for  this  meal  at  11  o'clock),  and  great  --^ 
was  the  clatter  of  pewter  plates  in  the  hands  of  youthful 
apprentices,  who  were  required  to  serve  their  masters'  tables. 
Business  was  afterwards  resumed,  and  continued  until  six  -^ 
o'clock,  when  a  supper,  of  the  same  character  as  the  morning 
meal,  wound  up  the  day.     For  an  hour  or  two  in  the  even- 
ing the   taverns   and   ale-houses  were  filled  with  habitual ^^ 
customers,  who,  furnished  with  pipes  and  tankards,  discussed 
the  current  topics  of  the  day  with  their  friends.     As  was 
natural   enough,  politicians  selected  a   tavern  where  they  , 
were  certain  to  meet  with  acquaintances  of  kindred  princi-  / 
pies.     From  an  early  period,  the  White  Lion  inn,  in  Broad  \ 
ptreet^  wasuth^  favourite  rendezvous   of  the  leading  Tory 
"merchants.     The  nightly  potations  were  not  generally  pro- 
longed, but,  taking  into  consideration  the  liquor  consumed 

c 


18  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

during  the  day,  they  were  often  too  deep.  Dr.  Johnson, 
when  once  referring  to  the  customs  of  this  period  in  his 
native  town,  asserted  that  all  the  decent  people  of  Lichfield 
got  drunk  every  night,  and  were  not  thought  the  worse  of. 
And  it  may  be  doubted  whether  Bristol,  which  had  about 
<W  240  inns,  taverns,  and  ale-houses  in  1700,  or  one  for  every 
/  twenty  families^  could  boast  of  much  more  sobriety  than  the 

sleepy,  little  .Staffordshire  city.  Revellers,  however,  had 
good  reasons  for  separating  at  an  early  hour,  even  if  an 
order  of  the  Corporation  had  not  required  the  closing  of 
,^^X public-houses  at  nine  o'clock  in  winter  and  ten  in  summer. 
Locomotion  after  nightfall  in  the  dirty,  dark,  and  virtually 
unguarded  thoroughfares,  in  which  all  the  public  lamps,  or, 
rather,  candle  lanthoms,  were  extinguished  at  nine  o'clock, 
was  always  disagreeable  and  sometimes  perilous.  The 
citizens,  then,  hastened  home  ;  the  night  constables,  number- 
ing twelve  all  told,  and  farcically  called  watchmen,  slunk 
off  to  smoke  or  sleep ;  and  night  prowlers  had  free  course 
fpr-their  drunken  outrages. 

(The  united  energy  of  the  community  in  affairs  of  com- 
merce and  trade  disguised  a  very  different  state  of  feeling 
as  regarded  political  and  religious  controversies.  Nearly 
a  hundred  years  after  the  period  under  review,  Southey 
^4^  complained  of  the  impassable  barriers  which  hostile  parties 
and  sects  in  Bristol  had  set  up  against  each  other,  to  the 
almost  total  destruction  of  social  intercourse.  But  the  ill- 
feeling  caused  by  the  French  Revolution  was  but  a  feeble 
reflex  of  the  passions  that  had  been  aroused  by  our  own 
political  conflicts  of  the  previous  century.  Cavaliers  and 
Roundheads,  Tories  and  Whigs,  had  by  turns  enjoyed  a 
temporary   domination,  and   each,  in   abusing  power,  had 

-    inflicted  wounds  on  their  adversaries  which  still  rankled  in 

1700.     Bristolians  yet  lived  whose  fathers  had    lost   their 

lives  in  defence  of  the  Crown  and  the  Church,  and  who 

had  been  oppressed,  and  sometimes  ruined,  in  subsequent 

^persecutions.     The   clergy  of  the  city  parishes   had   been 

\  banished  from  their  livings  and  reduced  to  beggary,  and 

V   1  their    flocks    had    seen    the    pulpits   filled   with   ignorant 

fanatics.      Then   the   tide   had   turned,   and   the   exultant 

V  '       Royalists  had  hastened  to  better  the  worst  instruction  of 

V  their*  opponents.     Obstinate  nonconformity  was    punished 

^^      /     with  transportation,  and  even  with  death.     The  dissenting 

community — and  it  was  locally  numerous — suffered  under 

every  ignominy  at  the  hands  of  the  Government  and  its 

supporters  in  Bristol.     The  closing  of  meeting-houses  and 


/ 


1700.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  .     19 


the  persecution  of  dissenting  ministers  did  not  satisfy  the    ^^   '■/ 
victors.     In   1682   there  were  120  god-fearing  Quakers  in — rr-    ,* 
the   city  gaol,  where   many   of  them   died   of  pestilential        ") 
diseases,  for  the  so-called  crime  of  non-attendance  at  church. 
The  fines  imposed  upon  local  Friends  in  the  following  year 
for  the   same   delinquency   amounted    to    nearly   £16,500.  ' 
One  of  these  culprits,  condemned  to  death  for  incorrigible    ' 
nonconformity,  was  saved  from  the  gallows  only  by   the  y 

exertions  of  his  wife  in  London.    Baptists  and  Independenis     -']    f^ 
had  not  been  more  mildly  dealt  ^vith.     During  the  High 
Church  persecution  upwards  of  4,000  Dissenters  died  in  the 
prisons  into  which  they  had-  been  flung  for  infractions  of 
the  Conformjty_Actg,     William  Penn  estimated  the  number 
oT  families  ruined  during  this  intolerant  crusade  at  15,000. 
And  it  is  beyond  question  that  Bristol  produced    a  large  ^ 
contingent  of  these  martyrs  for  conscience  sake.     The  men    \  yy 
who  distinguished  themselves  in  the  local  oppression  were     '^ 
rewarded  and  honoured  by  the  Government,  being  intro-  _ 
d«ced  by  its  orders  into  the  Corporation,  which  was  ^*  puri- 
fied "  by  the  ejection  of  more  moderate  men.     Later  on,     ' ' 
under  James  II.,  the  Common  Council  was  in  the  first  place    ri 
cleansed  of  every  trace  of  Whiggery,  and  was  subsequently 
stuffed  with  supporters  of  the  memorable  Indulgence,  the  / 
bitterest    feelings   being    stirred   up  amongst  the  persons  a 

successively  degraded.  The  Revolution  which  followed  only  —  ,  ^ 
aggravated  the  animosities  of  poTiticiaifs.  Waller  Hart^  one  / 
of  the  prebendaries  of'  the  Cathedral,  and  three  Bristol 
clergymen,  Elisha  Sage, — Burges,  and — Edwards,  followed  -4~ 
the  example  of  Bishop  Frampton,  of  Gloucester,  and  Bishop 
Ken,  of  Wells,  in  refusing  to  swear  fealty  to  William  and 
Mary.  It  was  notorious  that  many  others  were  at  heart 
disloyal,  some  of  them  refusing  to  allow  the  bells  to  be  rung 
for  the  new  king's  successes  in  Ireland.  A  .powerful  section 
of  the  laitjy  was  equally  Jacobitical,  and  "SC^Cfcely  disguised 
"itr~aspira;t:roris  for  the  overthrow  oiF  the  "usurper."  Two 
illustrations  will  suffice  to  show  the  intense  animositj^  of  the 
factions  into  which  the  city  was  divided.  On  the  death  ot' 
Queen  Mary  the  Bristol  Jacobites,  says  a  contemporary 
news-letter,  ^  ciaused^tEe  Ibells  to  be  rung  out,  and  went 
dancing,  through  the  streets,  with  music  playing  *  The  King 
^all  enjoy  his  own  again.'  '*  The  fanatical  admirers  of  the 
Commonwealth,  on  the  other  hand,  though  they  did  not 
dare  to  rejoiceih  public,  iield  a  feast  in  every  populous  town 
on  the  anniversarj^of  the  death  of  Charles  L  The  standing 
dish  at  those  festivals  was  a  calf's  head,  the  appearance  of 


/  /' 


V 


*■/ 


20  THE   AJINALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

which  was  always  greeted  by  a  soDg,  of  which  one  verse 
will  suffice, — 

"  Now  let's  sing,  carouse,  and  roar, 
The  happy  day  is  come  once  more, 

For  to  revel 

Is  but  civil. 
Thus  our  fathers  did  before, 
When  the  tyrant  would  enslave  us, 
Chopt  his  calf's  head  off  to  save  iis." 

For  more  than  forty  years  after  this  date  the  fiercest  pas- 
sions were  aroused  by  the  Jacobite  jubilations  on  the  biilh- 
days  of  the  two  Pretenders  On  the  oiie  hand^jind  by  the 
Ixoiidays  in  honour  of  the  reigning  monarch  on  tTie  other. 
On  more  than  one  occasion  tlie  mutual  exasperation  led  to 
violent  riots  in  the  city,  and  once  to  loss  of  life,  (l^neraj 
ections,  which  then  took  place  every  three  years,  afforded 
the^TtvarTactions  especially  favourable  opportunities  for 
-flisplajing  their  mutual  passions.  It  seems  unquestionable 
that  in  these  contests  a  free  expression  of  public  opinion 
was  frequently  prevented  by  fraud  or  force.  A  popular 
candidate,  with  a  majority  oi  votes,  if  not  defeated  at  the 

EoU  by  riots  and  open  violence,  or  defrauded  of  his  votes 
y  the  partiality  of  the  returning  officers  or  the  factious 
manoeuvres  of  his  opponents,  was  all  but  ruined  bj'  the 
extravagant  cost  of  nis  victory.  The  poll  could  be  kept 
open  for  forty  daj's,  entailing  an  enormous  expense  upon  the 
candidates,  and  prolific  of  bribery,  treating,  and  disorder. 
During  this  period  the  public-houses  were  thrown  open,  and 
drunkenness  and  violence  prevailed  in  the  streets  and  at  the 
hustings.  Bands  of  hired  ruffians,  armed  with  bludgeons 
and  inflamed  by  liquor,  paraded  the  thoroughfares,  intimi- 
dating voters,  and  resisting  their  access  to  the  polling  place. 
Candidates,  often  assailed  with  filth  and  missiles,  braved 
the  penalties  of  the  pillory ;  their  supporters  were  exposed 
to  the  fury  of  drunken  mobs  ;  while  an  outrage  incited  by 
one  camp  forthwith  provoked  a  revengeful  retort  by  the 
other.  How  little  sucn  chronic  antagonism  was  compatible 
ivitli  social  communion,  courtesy,  and  good  feeling  between 
the  hostile  parties  may  be  left  to  the  reader's  consideration. 
On  one  point,  however,  all  ranks  and  parties  seem  to  have 
been  thoroughly  in  unison — namely,  in  the  exclusion  from 
the  trade  and  industry  of  the  city  of  those  not  born  within 
!  its  boundaries.  Every  one  coming  from  outside  those  limits 
■  — even  from  Clifton  or  Redland,  or  the  out-parishes  of  St. 
James  or  St.  Philip — was  stigmatised  as  a  "  foreigner,"  and 


1700.]  IN   THE    BIOHTEENTH   CENTURY.  21 

often   treated   as  an  enemy  deserving  extermination.     In.-, 
1696    the  Corporation  passed  a  by-law,  prohibiting  every 
person  not  a  freeman  from  exercising  a  trade  or  opening  a   1 
shop  in  the  city,  "  whether  with  or  without  latesses  or  glass    \  /^ 
windows ;  botchers,  coblers,  and  hoxters   alone  excepted."^ 
The  penalty  upon  an  interloper  was  £5  a  day.     In  1703  the 
fine  was  raised  to  £20  on  each  conviction.     The  authorities, 
it  is  true,  acted  capriciously  in  the  matter,  sometimes  shut- 
ting their  eyes  to  incursions  from  outside,  and  sometimes 
encouraging  informers  to  prosecute,  and  convicting  all  and 
sundry.     Minutes   exist  oi  several  foreigners*  shops   being 
**  shut  down,"  and  the  goods  therein  seized  to  defray  the 
penalties;  while  the  dealings  of  **one  foreigner  with  another  " 
in  the  city  were  presented  by  one  grand  jury  as  a  great 
grievance  to  legitimate  traders.     In  1696  William  Bonny,  a, 
printer,  was    permitted    to    set  up  business,  the  Chamber 
believing  that  a  printing  house  "  might  be  useful "  ;  but  he 
was  forbidden  to  sell  books.     In  1700  a  watchmaker  was 
allowed  to  open  a  shop  on  presenting  a  **  curious  watch  and 
(lyall  to  be  set  up  in  the  Tolzey,"  and  undertaking  "  to  keep 
the  same  in  repair  during  his  life."     In  the  same  year  the 
Council  empowered  the  mayor,  "  there  being  a  confederacy 
among  the  cooks  now  in  the  city/'  to  confer  the  freedom  on 
any  '*  able  cooks  "  that  might  come  down  from  London ;  the 
freedom  being  also  granted  to  an  interloping  brushmaker, 
because  there  was  no  other  in  Bristol.     The  applications  of  "7 
other  strangers  were  rejected,  or  such  heavy  fines  were  im-  / 
posed  for  admission  to  the  burgess  roll  as  to  be  practically^  i/' 
prohibitive.     Many    other  restraints  on  business,   mostly 
imposed_by  the  incorporated  trades  of  the  city,  affected  the 
citTzens  themselves,   and   must  have  operated   grievously. 
Before  commencing  business  on  his  own  account,  a  man  was 
required  to  serve  seven  years'  apprenticeship  in  Bristol  to~"" 
a   member   of   his   trading   company.     No  shopkeeper   not     ^  • 
being  a  tailor  was  allowed  to  make  or  sell  linen  or  woollen 
stockings.     A  skinner  was  forbidden  to  buy  skins  used  by  ^, 
the  trades  of  whitetawers  and  glovers.     No  glover  was  U>  ^^ 
make  points,  and  no  pointmaker  was  to  make  gloves.     No  v 
carpenter  was  to  meddle  with  the  work  of  a  joiner,  and  vice  ) 
versd.     Neither  joiners  nor  carpenters  were  to  furnish  cus^' 
tomers  with  locks,  bolts,  hinges,  etc.,  or  to  make  use  of  any 
tools,  save  those  made  by  the  Smiths'  Company.     No  one 
except  a  member  of  the  Cutlers'  Company  was  permitted  to 
sell  a  knife.     Articles   produced   by  suburban  joiners  and  "^ 
carpenters,  including  rough   boards  and  planks,  were  for- 


< 


22  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

bidden  to  enter  the  city.  A  similar  law  interdicted  the 
admission  of  casks  and  washing  pails.  No  butcher  was  to 
cook  meat  for  sale.  No  victualler  was  allowed  to  buy 
country  bread,  or  even  to  bake  in  his  own  house.  Tilers 
were  forbidden  to  lend  a  ladder  to  a  carpenteiL-^r  mason. 
No  baker  or  barber  was  to  open  two  shops,  (interloping 
artisans  from  the  neighbouring  districts,  and  enterprising 
country  youths  seeking  to  raise  themselves  by  exchanging 
a  rural  tor  a  town  life,  but  unable  to  pay  an  apprentice  fee, 
were  hounded  out  of  the  city  as  soon  as  they  were  dis- 
covered, and  people  harbouring  such  "  inmates  "  were  prose- 
cuted. ^  The  law  which  prevented  a  trader  or  an  artisan 
/  fronrmiangrng  his  occupation  for  a  more  eligible  one  was 

\/  common  to  the  whole  kingdom,  but  was  not  the  less  onerous. 
Under  an  Act  of  Elizabeth  such  a  change  could  not  be  made 
without  passing  through  a  second  apprenticeship  of  seven 
years,  and  the  members  of  the  trading  companies  were 
always  on  the  alert  to  maintain  this  preposterous  restriction 
on  individual  energy. 

The  exclusive  monopolies  which  the  trading  community, 
in  a  short-sighted  and  erroneous  view  of  its  true  interests, 
sought  to  establish  for  its  own  profit,  do  not  appear  more 
reasonable  when  one  considers  the  difficulties  which  then 
exists  in  travelling  from  place  to  place,  and  the  consequent 
immobility  of  the  poorer  classes  of  Englishmen.  An  account 
book  of  the  Grore  family,  of  Flax  Bourton,  shows  that  a 
public  coach,  one  of  the  earliest  known,  was  running  be- 
V  tween  Bristol  and  London  in  1663.  The  journey  occupied 
three  days  in  summer,  and  probably  four  or  five  in  winter. 
Tiia- fare- was_  265.  Soon  after  1700,  "flying"  coaches,  in 
tne  summer  montlis  only,  made  the  journey  in  two  days  by 
starting  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  No  greater  speed 
was  attempted  for  upwards  of  half  a  century,  for  in  1764, 
the  Bristol  flying  machine,  setting  olf  at  the  same  hour,  did 
/not  reach  London  until  the  night  of  the  following  day. 
/   There  were  then  three  of  those  vehicles  weekly,  and  they 

^  were  the  only  coaches  on  the  road.  As  they  carried  no  more 
than  six  passengers  each,  the  aggregate  conveyed  in  the 
summer  half-year,  sup|X)sing  them  to  have  been  always  full, 
did  not  exceed  the  number  often  transported  in  an  ordinary 
railway  train.  A  few  additional  persons  of  the  poorer  class 
were  conveyed  by  wagons,  one  of  which,  with  a  load  of  two 
tons,  required  seven  or  ei^ht  draught  horses;  while  the  maxi- 
mum distance  covered  in  a  day  was  twenty  miles.  In 
many  districts  the  rate  of  travelling  was  somewhat  slower. 


1700.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTUBY.  23 

Bristolians  were  thus  in  1700  practically  as  far  from  the 
county  towns  of  Somerset  and  Gloucestershire  as  they  now 
are  from  Paris,  and  as  far  from  Edinburgh  as  they  are  now 
from  California.  And  the  perils  to  life  and  property  were 
certainly  greater  on  the  short  journeys  than  they  now  are 
on  the  long  ones.  As  robbers  swarmed  on  every  highway, 
travellers  armed  themselves  on  setting  out  as  if  they  were 
going  to  battle,  and  a  blunderbuss  was  as  indispensable  to  a 
coachman  as  his  whip.  Taking  all  these  facts  into  account, 
one  cannot  be  amazed  at  the  stay-at-home  propensities  of 
Bristolians.  But  why  should  they  have  dreaded  greater 
restlessness  on  the  part  of  their  neighbours,  whose  move- 
ments were  restrained  by  the  same  causes  ?  The  state  of 
the  highroads,  even  in  the  richest  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
cannot  be  fully  realised  at  the  present  day.  Their  extreme 
narrowness  is  brought  to  light  by  an  Act  of  1691,  which  re- 
quired local  surveyors  to  make  highways  between  market 
towns  "eight  foot  wide  at  the  least,"  the  minimum  breadth  for 
*'  causeways  for  horses  *'  being  fixed  at  "  three  foot."  Nar- 
rowness, however,  was  not  their  worst  fault.  Nothing  was 
more  common  than  for  a  coach  to  stick  fast  in  its  journey, 
and  for  a  dozen  horses  or  oxen  to  be  called  in  for  its  rescue. 
The  writer  of  "  A  Step  to  the  Bath,"  published  in  1700, 
stated  that  a  portion  of  the  London  road  between  Marl- 
borough and  ChippenhsCm  was  got  over  in  winter  by  the 
coaches  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  in  three  hours.  The 
risk  of  breakdowns  on  all  the  highways  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  a  box  of  wheelwright's  tools  was  carried 
by  every  coach.  In  1702,  when  Queen  Anne  visited  Bristol, 
the  chief  road  from  Bath  was  in  so  found  erous  a  condition 
that  the  royal  carriages  had  to  make  a  detour  to  Kingswood 
by  way  of  Newton  St.  Loe.  A  few  months  later,  when  the 
Queen's  husband  travelled  from  Windsor  to  Petworth,  one 
of  his  attendants  recorded  that  "the  last  nine  miles  of  the 
way  cost  us  six  hours  to  conquer  them,"  nearly  every 
carriage  in  the  procession  being  overturned  at  least  twice. 
The  road  from  Bristol  to  Brislington  was  frequently  repre- 
sented to  the  Common  Council  as  dangerous  to  life.  It  was 
only  seven  feet  wide  at  Temple  Gate,  and  on  one  occasion 
Sir  Abraham  Elton  narrowly  escaped  drowning  near  Totter- 
down,  through  his  carriage  encountering  a  coach  at  a  point 
where  two  vehicles  could  not  pass  each  other.  Other  in- 
stances of  the  difficulty  of  locomotion  will  be  given  in  the 
course  of  these  annals. 

From  what  has  been  already  said,  the  reader  will  find  an 


•^, 


/ 


\ 


24  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 

explanation  of  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  Bristolians  of 
1700  never  dreamt  of  travelling  merely  for  recreation   or 
amusement.     A  large  majority  of   the  citizens  lived  and 
died  without  having  lost  sight  for  even  half  a  dozen  times  of 
their  familiar  church  towers.     Nobody  then  went  to  bathe 
in  the  Bristol  Channel,  unless  he  was  under  the  apprehen- 
sion of  having  been  bitten  by  a  mad  dog.     A  taste  for  the 
grander  beauties  of  Nature,  or  for  the  architectural  master- 
pieces of  the  Middle  Ages,  had  not  arisen  even  amongst  the 
educated  and  wealthy  ;  and  if  a  tradesman  had  been  invited 
to  visit  the  Wye  at  Tintern,  the  rocks  at  Cheddar,  or  the 
ruins  of  Glastonbury,  he  would  have  regarded  the  proposal 
as  that  of  a  lunatic  or  a  Papist.     (Even  so  late  as  1752  a 
writer  in  the  Gentlemmi's  Magazine  observed  that  a  Londoner 
would  no  more  think  of  travelling  in  the  West  of  England 
for  pleasure  than  of  going  to  Nubia.)     Resolutely  confining 
themselves  within  the  city  walls,  the   inhabitants  conse- 
quently   sought    their    amusements    during    the    summer 
evenings  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  dwellings.      The 
Corporation  had  stated  festivities  at  this  period,  in  which 
the  public  may  have  taken  a  certain  share.    The  mayor  and 
his  colleagues  paid  a  yearly  visit  to  Earl's  Mead,  for  what 
/  would  now  seem  the  preposterous  purpose  of  fishing  in  the 
Froom ;  and  mighty  was  the  feasting  that  took  place  over 
the  captured  perch  and  eels.     On  another  autumn  day,  the 
"  worshipful  body,  headed  by  the  city  trumpeters,  and  greeted 
.by  the  bells  of  Bed  cliff,  proceeded  gravely  to  Treen  Mills, 
j  to   witness   the   sport  of  duck-hunting  on   the   pool    now 
'  covered   by  Bathurst  Basin.     From  the  copious  potations 
which  took  place  in  honour  of  this  pastime  it  may  be  con- 
jectured that  the   civic  magnates  returned  in  scarcely  so 
dignified  a  manner  as  they  set  out.     The  duck-hunting  was 
followed  by  the  perambulation  of  the  city  bounds,  when  those 
'allured  by  invitations  to  partake  in  the  carousal  had  often 
to  pay  for  their  rashness  by  being  ingloriously  ** bumped'' 
against  the  boundary  stones.     The  inspection  of  the  water 
limits,  a  rarer  ceremony,  was,  if  the  weather  proved  favour- 
able, an  event  never  to  be  forgotten  by  the  junior  members 
of  the  Council,  who  saw  the  Holmes  and  the  half  score  of 
hovels  composing  Weston-super-Mare  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives.    If  "  rude  Boreas"  was  wicked  enough  to  mingle 
in   the  festivity,  their  recollection  of  the  "  voyage  "  was 
doubtless  acuter  still.    Although  precise  evidence  is  wanting 
^  until  a  later  period,  it  is  probable  that  previous  to  1700  a 
shorse  race  took  place  yearly  on  Durdham  Down,  then  almost 


1700.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  25 

covered  with  furze,  and  shunned  by  the  citizens  at  ordinary 
times  owing  to  the  frequency  of  robberies  and  outrages.  A 
more  cojumon^  amusement  was  cock-fighting,  which  was 
patronised  and  chiefly  supported  by' the  county  gentry,  but 
was  popular  with  all  classes.  In  1656  Parson  Allambrigge, 
of  Monkton  Farleigh,  fought  a  main  of  cocks  with  a  neigh- 
bour, and  was  so  delighted  by  his  victory  that  he  recorded  it 
in  the  parish  register ;  while  in  1700  a  gentleman  named 
Richards  noted  in  his  diary  that  he  visited  Wimborne 
School  to  see  the  cock  fight  annually  held  by  the  boys  with 
the  approval  of  their  masters.  The  city  cockpit,  according 
to  Mr.  Bichard  Smith,  was  in  a  court  in  Back  Street ;  but 
there  was  one  in  the  Pithay,  another  in  Redcliff,  a  fourth  in 
Temple,  and  a  fashionable  one  at  the  Ostrich  Inn,  Durdham 
Down.  The  stakes  at  the  last-named  were  generally  about 
five  guineas  a  fight,  and  from  30  to  60  guineas  for  the 
concluding  battle.  Returning  to  every-day  life,  the.  City 
Marshy  planted  with  numerous  rows  of  trees,  and  made 
cheerful  at  high  tides  by  the  movements  of  the  shipping,  ^ 
had  long  been  the  favourite  promenade,  and  at  least  one 
deceased  Tover  of  the  spot  had  bequeathed  a  yearly  rent- 
charge  for  keeping  it  in  order.  It  had  also  the  attraction  ^ 
of  a  bowUng-green  and  tavern,  constructed  by  public  subv  ^  ^ 
scrip tion-frfter  the  fall  of  Puritanism,  where  grave  and 
reverend  fathers  of  the  city  were  wont  to  take  their  plea- 
sure. But  in  the  spring  of  1700  masons  and  bricklayers 
had  invaded  the  quiet  meadow,  and  the  first  steps  were 
taken  towards  constructing  a  handsome  square  of  mansions, \/ 
worthy  of  the  growing  wealth  of  Bristol  merchants.  The 
closing  of  the  bowling-green,  necessitated  by  the  operations, 
largely  profited  other  places  of  the  same  character,  of  which 
there  were  several.  There  was  a  bowling-green  in  the  I 
Pithay,  near  the  City  Assembly  Room,  which  was  also  j 
placed  in  that  oddly  chosen  nook.  There  was  another  bowl-  \  J 
ing-green  in  St.  James's  Barton,  another  (then  or  soon  after) 
at  Redcliif  Hill,  another  at  Wapping,  another,  chiefly  for 
visitors,  at  the  Hot  Well,  and  many  more  at  the  suburban 
taverns.  A  tennis-court,  established  in  Broad  Street,  seems 
to  have  completed  the  list  of  public  resorts.  But  many  -^ 
citizens  had  private  greens  adjacent  to  their  dwellings.  For 
although  the  original  builders  of  the  city  had  been  so  par- 
simonious in  setting  out  the  public  thoroughfares,  they  had 
generally  allowed  ample  space  for  gardens  in  the  rear  of 
dwellings.  In  1700  some  houses  on  the  north  side  of  Wine 
Street  had  gardens  extending  to  the  bank  of  the  Froom. 


f 


26  THE    ANNALS   OP   BttlSTOL  [1700. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Wills  informs  me  that  there  was  a  bowling-green 
behind  the  old  mansion  in  Redcliff  Street  in  which  his  father 
was  bom,  now  covered  by  one  of  the  manufactories  of  the 
firm.  The  mansions  on  the  west  side  of  Small  Street  pos- 
sessed large  plots  of  garden  ground  at  the  back.  The 
orchards  and  gardens  pertaining  to  houses  in  Le  win's  Mead  are 
mentioned  in  many  legal  documents.  Reference  will  after- 
wards be  made  to  a  summer  house  and  garden  at  the  rear 
of  Baldwin  Street,  and  old  maps  show  that  the  same  con- 
ditions prevailed  in  many  quarters  now  gorged  with  ware- 
houses and  offices.  Indeed,  a  little  before  this  date,  one  of 
the  corporate  books  speaks  of  a  mow  of  hay  standing  at  the 
back  of  a  house  in  Halliers'  Lane  (Nelson  Street),  and  of 
another  haystack  near  Old  Market  Street,  which  affords 
striking  evidence  of  the  semi-rural  condition  of  those  neigh- 
bourhoods. As  regards  indoor  amusements  for  the  winter 
months,  the  city  had  little  to  boast  of.  At  some  period 
^Between  the  Restoration  and  the  Revolution,  a  theatre  was 
erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  bridge,  on  ground  now 
occupied  by  Bath  Street;  and  a  company  of  comedians  made 
(its  appearance  from  time  to  time.  But  the  immorality  of 
the  dramas  then  popular  in  London  scandalized  sober- 
minded  Bristolians,  and  shortly  before  the  RevolutipjO-the 
play-house  was  converted  into  a  dissenting  chapel.  Per- 
formances were  still  permitted  in  St.  James's  parish  during 
the  great  fair,  but  the  Corporation,  after  compensating  the 
/   sheritfs  for  the  loss  of  fees  derived  from  this  source,  notified 

^  in  the  Lofidon  Gazette  for  July  2nd,  1702,  that  "acting  plays, 
interludes,  or   exposing  poppets  "  was  for   the  future  for- 

^/  bidden.  Billiard  tables  were  sometimes  introduced ;  but 
the  magistrates  promptly  ordered  their  suppression,  and 
imposed  fines  on  their  owners.  Evening  concerts  were  the 
invention  of  a  later  age ;  and  although  the  Corporation  main- 
tained a  band  of  musicians,  or  waits,  their  only  recorded 
performances  were  at  public  ceremonies^  which  may  have 
been  supplemented  by  some  nocturnal  fantasias  at  Christmas. 
Thus  the  only  source  of  gaietjr  in  the  monotonous  winter 
season  lay  in  occasional  reunions  in  the  Assembly  Room, 
where  the  young  danced  jigs  and  minuets,  while  their  elders 
relaxed  in  "  whisk  "  and  card  games  now  forgotten.  The 
entertainment  began  before  the  modern  hour  of  dinner, 
and  the  dissipation  was  over  before  a  modern  ball  has 
commenced. 

The   diversions  of   the  lower  classes,  if  diversions  they 
should    be  called,   were   more   varied  than  those  of  their 


1700.]  IN    THE    KIQUTEENTH    CBNTUKY.  27 

betters.     The  poor  witnessed   the   horse-racing ;  ^thay  hAcL^x^^^-  ^ 
tlifiir  ow»-  cock-fighting,  cock>  thro  wing,  and  dttok  hunting  ^,?*-*-^ 
and  at  the  revels  which  took  place  yearly  in  all  the  suburban 
districts  they  rejoiced  in  backsword  fighting,  cudgel  playing,-—^ 
climbing  greased  poles  for  legs  of  mutton,  and  hunting  pigs      | 
with  soaped  tails  ;  while  young  women  ran  races  for  smocks, — J 
or  boxed  for  money.     For  their  especial  pleasure,  it  may  be 
presumed,  tliejCorporation  provided  an  occasional  bullzbait. 
The  civic  audit  for  1697  records  a  payment  for  a  bull  rope, 
and  that  of  the  following  year  contains  an  item,  "  Paid  for 
a    collar   to  bait  bulls  in  the  Marsh,    6/?.''     Prize-fighting, 
in  which  Bristolians  took  a  deep  interest,  and  often   dis- 
played exceptional  skill  and  endurance,  also  had  the  patronage 
of  wealthy  citizens,  and  was  always  in  season.     But  it  was 
to  the  local  courts  of  justice  that  che  labouring  community 
were  indebted  for  the  most  frequent  interludes  in  the  dul- 
ness  of  a  life  of  toil.     In  1703  the  Corporation,  renewing  an 
old  by-law,  ordered  that  the  authorities  of  each  ward  should   ^^^^ 
'^  take  care  "  that  the  stocks  of  each  parish  were  kept  in  good 
order.     Those  instruments  did  not  rust  from  want  of  work. 
Men  and  women  convicted  of  drunkenness,  or  of  profane" 
swearing,  and  barbers  caught  shaving  customers  on  a  Sun- 
daj'',  were  condemned  to  detention  in  the  stocks,  sometimes 
ibr  as  long  as  six  hours  at  a  stretch.     Being  wholly  defence- 
less while  thus  entrammelled,  the  culprits  were  often  the 
victims  of  the  hard-hearted  crowd  which  assembled  to  pelt 
them.     After  a  quarter  sessions  court,  again,  prisoners  con- 
victed of  cheating  or  petty  thieving  were — females  as  well 
as  males — stripped  naked  to  the  waist  and  whipped  at  the 
cartas  tail  through  several  streets,  or  lashed  at  the  whippii 
post  in  Wine  Street,  or  set  up  in  the  pillory  in  the  same 
thoroughfare,  in  which  latter  case,  if  the  mob  was  malevo- 
lent, a  luckless  wretch  was  in  danger  of  being  killed  out- 
right by  missiles.     Persons  convicted  of  lewdness  were,  "  by 
the  ancient  custom  of  the  city,"  say^ the  records,  set  back- 
wards upon^a  horse,  and  paraded  about  for  the  delectation    -^ 
of  the  multitude.     Women  found  guilty  of  "  common  scold- 
ing" were  punisEed  by  being  dragged  to  the  Wear,  thrust 
into  the  city  ducking-stool,  and  plunged  into  the   Froom    i/ 
^midst  jeering  acclamations.     Finally,  as  the  result  of   a 
g  iol~3envery,  murderers  and  the  worst  class  of  thieves  were 
compelled  to  walk  to  the  gallows  on  St.  Michael's  Hill  to  /  y 
sujBFer  death.     These  executions  were  frightfully  numerous  ;  / 
on    two  occasions  within   the  space   of  twenty  years  five 
unhappy  creatures  were  hanged  in  a  batch.     For  various 


28  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1700. 

crimes,  the  punishment  of  women  was  death  by  burning. 
On  the  16th  of  June,  1695,  according  to  a  local  calendar,  a 
woman,  a  shopkeeper  in  Temple  Street,  was  burnt  for  coin 
clipping ;  but  Mr.  Seyer  alleges,  on  the  authority  of  another 
manuscript,  that  she  escaped  from  Newgate  before  the  day 
fixed  for  her  execution.  A  girl  of  fourteen  years,  for  mur- 
dering her  mistress,  was  burnt  in  London  in  1712.  A 
woman,  who  had  murdered  her  husband,  suffered  at  Glou- 
cester in  1763;  another  for  the  same  crime  perished  in 
Somerset  in  1766 ;  and  a  girl,  eighteen  years  old,  for  murder- 
ing her  mistress,  underwent  the  same  fate  at  Monmouth  in 
17G4.  The  witches  remain  to  be  mentioned.  In  1700  there 
were  few  Bristolians  who  were  not  in  dread  of  them,  and 
such  appreheiisions  were  common  amongst  cultivated  Eng- 
lishmen. _/rhe  contemporary  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  accord- 
ing to  Bishop  Kennet  (Lansdowne  MSS.,  British  Museum), 
avowed  his  belief  not  merely  in  witches,  but  in  fairies  ;  and 
John  Wesley,  long  after  this  date,  declared  that  non-l)elievers 
in  witchcraft  were  little  better  than  infidels.  In  1683  three 
women  were  hanged  at  Exeter  for  witchcraft.  A  wizard 
wa»  tried  about  the  same  date  at  Taunton,  and  was  rescued 
from  death  only  by  the  sceptical  ingenuity  of  the  judge. 
Lord  Guilford.  In  1701  Luttrell  records  in  his  diary  that 
a  woman  narrowly  escaped  conviction  as  a  witch  in  London, 
the  prosecutor's  perjury  being  discovered,  apparently,  in 
court.  In  1702  a  so-called  witch  perished  at  Edinburgh, 
then  the  seat  of  a  Parliament,  and  the  chief  centre  of  Scotch 
learning  and  science.  And  two  more  women  were  executed 
at  Northampton  in  1706.  In  or  about  the  latter  year  a  man 
named  Silvester,  in  Bristol,  fell  under  such  deep  suspicion 
of  unholy  arts  that  he  prudently  disappeared  before  his 
neighbours  could  take  action  (Stewart's  MS.  Annals, 
Bodleian  Lib.).  So  late  as  1730,  at  Frome,  a  poor  old 
woman,  suspected  of  being  a  witch,  was,  by  the  advice  of  a 
"  cunning  man,"  thrown  into  a  pool  and  drowned  by  twenty 
of  her  neighbours,  in  the  presence  of  200  persons,  who  made 
no  attempt  to  save  her  life.  To  sum  up  what  has  been  said 
respecting  the  punishments  of  the  age,  it  seems  certain  that 
the  frequency  and  brutalising  character  of  the  legal  spec- 
tacles aggravated  the  vicious  instincts  of  the  ignorant 
population,  and  exasperated  the  evils  they  were  devised  to 
correct. 

A  brief  account  of  the  corporate  body  and  of  the  Cathedral 
dignitaries  may  bring  this  review  to  a  close.  The  evident 
intention  of  the  early  charters  of  the  city,  and  especially 


k 


1700.]  IN  THE  BIQHTEEKTH  CENTURY.  29 

of  that  of  Edward  III.,  was  to  place  the  power  of  electing 
the  local  government  in  the  hands  of  the  free  burgesses,  or 
community  at  large.  But  by  later  grants  solicited  from 
the  Crown  the  Corporation  had  gradually  acquired  the  right 
of  self-election  and  become  wholly  irresponsible.  As  was 
natural,  its  pride  grew  in  proportion  with  its  power.  In 
the  manuscripts  of  Archbishop  Bancroft,  preserved  at  the 
Bodleian  fcibrary,  is  some  curious  information  respecting 
the  arrogance  of  the  city  authorities.  About  1G79  they 
quarrelled  with  the  dean  and  chapter  of  the  Cathedral, 
because  that  body  refused  to  give  the  Corporation  prece- 
dence in  the  "  bidding  prayer "  over  the  Church  and  the 
bishops.  In  1681  the  dispute  was  still  raging,  the  Corpora- 
tion claiming  a  right  to  have  the  state  sword  placed  erect 
in  the  choir,  while  the  Cathedral  authorities  wished  it  to  be 
laid  on  a  cushion — as  was  done  at  York,  through  a  com- 
promise effected  by  Charles  I.  Bishop  Goulston,  who  sends 
this  information  to  the  Primate,  adds  that  the  mayor  had 
just  set  off  for  London,  and  begged  the  archbishop^s  interest 
in  support  of  various  requests  he  was  about  to  make  to  the 
Government,  one  of  them  being  that  Bristol  should  in  future 
have  a  Lord  Mayor.  (The  civic  petitions  were  all  rejected ; 
but,  to  soften  the  disappointment,  the  mayor,  Thomas  Earle,  (  / 
and  one  of  the  sheriffs,  John  Knight,  were  presented  to  the  \  v 
king,  and  received  the  honour  of  knighthood.)  At  the 
assizes  in  the  following  year  a  violent  struggle  between  the 
city  and  capitular  authorities  was  about  to  take  place  in  the 
Cathedral  respecting  the  state  sword,  when  Chief  Justice 
North,  urged  by  the  bishop,  induced  the  mayor  and  his 
retinue  to  retire  sulkily  into  the  palace  until  the  conclusion 
of  the  service.  The  dispute  was  at  last  settled  by  the 
interposition  of  the  bishop  and  the  two  judges  of  assize  ;  it 
being  arranged  that  the  sword  might  be  borne  erect  into 
the  choir,  but  was  there  to  be  "  turned  down  upon  a  cushion, 
and  not  erected  or  set  up."  But  it  will  be  seen  hereafter 
that  the  Corporation,  taking  fresh  offence  with  the  dean  and 
chapter,  and  hankering  after  increased  ostentation,  treated 
themselves  to  a  private  chapel,  where  they  could  fix  their 
own  ceremonial.  The  arbitrary  dismissals  and  nominations 
of  civic  functionaries  by  the  last  two  kings  of  the  house  of 
Stewart  have  been  already  mentioned.  At  the  Revolution 
the  Corporation  was  emancipated  from  regal  control,  and 
t he  systejgai .  of  self-election  was  revived.  Nevertheless,  a 
remarkable  and  now  inexplicable  change  soon  took  place  in 
the  political  composition  of  the  chamber.    In  1690  the  Council 


V 


30.  I  THB    ANNALS    OK   BRISTOL  [1700. 

was  described  by  Sir  Thomas  Earle  as  "a  nest  of  Jacobites,'* 
which  is  not  surprising  when  one  remembers  that  the 
Whig  element  had  been  nearly  eliminated  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  Sir  Thomas  Earle  had  just  been  expelled  from 
ihe  Council  by  a  great  majority  of  his  colleagues,  professedly 
for  having  written  offensively  of  the  mayor  and  reflected 
injuriously  on  the  Corporation,  but  really  because  he  had 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  the  disloyal 
designs  of  the  chief  magistrate  and  his  Jacobite  colleagues. 
Sir  Thomas  regained  his  seat  by  appealing  to  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench ;  and  after  tliis  defeat  the  high  Tories  lost 
ground  in  the  Chamber,  perhaps  from  inability  to  find 
eligible  recruits.  New  members  being  generally  drawn  from 
the  supporters  of  the  Revolution  settlement,  the  Jacobite 
party  was  in  a  few  years  reduced  to  insignificance.  It  can- 
not be  said,  however,  that  the  ascendancy  of  the  Whigs 
brought  about  any  improvement  in  the  government  of  the 

y^  city,  ^s  before,  the  Corporation^  which  was  mainly  com-, 
prised  of  a  narrow  oligarchy  of  mercantile  families,  though 
drawing  what  was  then  considered  the  large  average  income 
of  about  £2 JOO  from  the  civic  estates,  practically  repudiated 
its  duties  whilst  tenaciously  asserting  its  rights.  The  work 
,  of   paving,  scavenging,   lighting,  and  watching  the  streets 

/  was  thrown  upon  the  inhabitants.  (The  efficiency  of  the 
cleansing  operations  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  St. 
Stephen's  Vestry  paid  4s.  a  week  for  scavenging  in  1690, 
whilst  St.  Leonard's  parish  got  the  work  performed  for  £0 
a  3'ear.)  Now  and  then,  when  a  thoroughfare  like  the  Old 
Market  was  reported  to  be  almost  impassable,  owing  to  the 
inefficacy  of  the  by-law  requiring  house-owners  to  pave  half 
the  width  of  the  street  in  front  of  their  property,  no  matter 
whether  that  width  was  16  feet  or  100,  the  Chamber  doled 
out  a  few  pounds  towards  the  repairs.  Similar  donations 
were  made  towards  mending  the  roads  leading  from  the  city 
gates,  the  state  of  which  was  almost  continually  complained 
of  as  perilous  to  life  and  limb.  But  the  Council  held  large 
trust  funds  specifically  bequeathed  to  afford  help  in  such 
contingencies.  With  respect  to  lighting,  the  Corporation 
was  less  liberal.  Its  contribution  towards  the  protection  of 
the  streets  is  recorded  in  1700  under  the  following  item  : — 
"Paid  for  repairing  the  city  lanthom,  3«."  (This  instru- 
ment, furnished  with  a  candle,  served  for  "  enlightening  the 
Tolzey.")  Watching  devolved  upon  the  inhabitants  of  tlK 
twelve  wards,  who  until  1700,  when  a  new  Act  was  obtained 
for  improving  the  service,  had  paid  a  small  rate  to  provide 


1700.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

wages  for  a  solitary  old  man  in  their  respective  districts. 
Scavenging  was^  delegated  to -the  parochial  ofdcers,  who,  as 
f5r  as  possible,  delegated  it  to  the  elements.     The  repair  of 
the  quays  of  the  port  devolved  upon  the  Merchants'  Com- 
fany^  to  whom  the  wharfage  dues  had  been  transferred  for 
that  purpose.     The  city  gaol  was  rebuilt  in  1691  by  the    y 
Chamber,  but  a  rate  was  levied  on  the  citizens  to  defray  ^ 
the  expense.     ThfiLCorporate  revenue  being  thus  relieved  of. 
^very  important  public  burden,  the  Chamber  applied  it,  as     ^ 
was  the  custom  of  similar  bodies   in  other  towns,  to  the  V    \^ 
maintenance  of  civic  magnificence  and  revelry.     A  large      ^ 
staff  of  marshals,  sergeants^  yeomen^  and  clubmen,  armed      . 
with  maces,  swords,  and  partisans,  aiid  finely"  apparelleJj^^^ 
preceded  and  followed  t&e  mayor  on  public_  occasions,  when, 
^e  was  always  arrayed  in  a  stately  robe^gold  chain,  and 
gauntlets,    and    accompanied    by    his    sword-bearer.     The        . 
etiquette  of  the  Corporation  was  as  fastidious  as  that  of  a    ^ 
^2Iirt-     On  the  great  Church_iestivaL3^  during  the  assizes^ 
and  on  certain  political  anniversaries,  the  mayor  and  alder- 
men  blazed  out  in  scarlet   attire;   at -other.  season«^  they  .J'' 
appeared  in  black  robes  trimmed  with  fur ;  at  others  again 
in  olack  gowns  trimmed  with  satin.     The  Great  Sword,  the 
Pearl  Sword,  the  Mourning  Sword  were  each   paraded  on 
certain  special  days ;  but  there  were  other  days  when  they 
were  all  out  of  place.     The  business  of  getting  a  new  mayor    y 
into  office,  and  an  old  mayor  out  of  it,  involved  a  prodigious  v 
complication   of   minute   courtesies   and   ceremonies,     it  is 
alm(5sl  needless  ixr  add  that   every  civic  incideiil  was  the  -^ 
occasion  of  more  or  less  conviviality.     Whatever  was  going 
on,  much  progress   could   not   be   made  without   a  festive  — 
lubrication.     Once  a  j'^ear  the  mayor  and  aldermen  held  a 
manor  court  at  Portishead,  and  a  supply  of  claret  and  sack 
(with  sometimes  "half  a  groce  "  of  tobacco  pipes)  was  sent 
down  for  their  entertainment ;  yet  a  "  refresher  "  was  needed  '^ 
at  Failand  Inn  both  on  setting  out  and  returning,  and  a 
final  booze  took   place  at   Rownham  before  the  party  re- 
entered the  city.     The  Chamber  was  entitled  to  a  banquet 
after  every  meeting;  tEe  aldermen  had  a  feast  after  every  . 
quarter  session..    If  a  committee  were  appointed,  creature 
ccnnftJffswere  essential  to  its  deliberations.     An  important 
document  could  not  be  signed,  or  a  contract  entered  into, 
without  the  assistance  of  **  refreshments."    When  an  address 
was  drawn  up  in  1702,  to  congratulate  Queen  Anne  on  her 
accession,  the  mayor  and  aldermen  incontinently  adjourned 
to  drink  wine  at  the  Raven  tavern  in  High  Street.     When 


32  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1700. 


V. 


the  same  dignitaries  assembled  a  few  weeks  later  to  pro- 
claim war  against  France,  visits  were  paid  to  six  different 
taverns  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  about  two  gallons  of 
sherry  being  drunk  at  each.     And  a  few  weeks  later  still, 
when   they   accompanied   Mr.  Colston  in  an  inspection  of 
Queen's  Elizabeth's  School,  a  supply  of  liquor  was  at  once 
commanded.     On  the  proclamation  and  coronation  of  a  new 
sovereign,  the  juice  of  the  grape  flowed  in  copious  streams; 
and  every  royal  birthday  was  similarly  celebrated.     The. 
entertainment  of  the  judges  and  of  distinguished  visitors, 
which  was  worthy  of  the  city's  fame  for  hospitality,  was 
almost  the  only  other  item  of  expenditure  in  ordinary  years. 
.■    The  salaries  of  the  civic  officials  were  trivial,  the  town  clerk 
/    receiving   £20,   the    recorder   £20,   the   sword-bearer  £40, 
I     the   chamberlain  £100,  the  coroners  £6  13s,  4rf.  each,  the 
/    vice-chamberlain   £14,    and   the   keeper   of  Bridewell   £20 
'     yearly,  some  other  officers  being  chiefly  paid  by  fees.     But 
f^    It  repeatedly  happened — notably  between  1690  and  1700 — 
that  the   corporate  income  did   not  suffice  to   defray  the 
prodigal  expenditure  of  the  city  magnates.     Although  no 
evidence  of  public  feeling  on  the  subject  has  come  down  to 
us,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that   the  inhabitants   can  have 
looked  with  affection  and  resT)ect  on  a  body  which,  through 
love  of  parade  and  feasting,  had  become  indifferent  to  the 
duties  for   which   it  was   created.     At  a   later   period  the 
indignation  of  the  citizens  became  manifest  enough. 

Side  by  side  with  this  exclusive  corporation  had  recently 
been  established  an  institution  of  a  representative  character 
— namely,  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  for  which  the  city 
was  mainly  indebted  to  the  exertions  of  an  able  and 
/  thoughtful  Bristol  merchant,  John  Gary.  Though  not 
strictly  within  the  limits  of  this  work,  a  sketch  of  its  foun- 
dation will  be  useful  to  elucidate  subsequent  events.  During 
the  war  with  France  the  local  clothing  trade  had  been  much 
depressed,  and  many^weavers,  through  want  of  work,  had 
been  reduced  to  pauperism,  causing  a  serious  increase  in  the 
rates.  Much  litigation,  moreover,  arose  respecting  the 
"  settlements ''  of  many  of  the  people  seeking  relief,  for  as 
each  parish  administered  its  own  poor  rates,  each  was 
anxious  to  evade  additional  burdens.  Whilst  the  subject 
was  occupying  public  attention,  Carv  issued  a  pamphlet — 
one  of  the  first  published  in  Bristol  since  the  civil  war — 
y  suggesting  the  erection  of  a  central  workhouse,  in  which 
0IC  able-bodied  paupers  might  be  provided  with  and  be  com- 

pelled   to  work,  the  infirm  economically  maintained,  and 


\^ 


1700.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  33 

the  young  trained  to  fit  them  for  a  life  of  honest  labour, 
"  ana  not  be  bred  up  in  all  manner  of  vice  as  they  now  are/' 
To  effect  these  ends  the  projector,  propounding  an  idea 
which  was  to  bear  fruit  over  the  whole  kingdom  nearly  a 
century  and  a  half  later,  urged  that  "  the  rates  of  the  city 
being  all  united  in  a  common  fund  "  would  be  "  enough  to 
carry  on  the  good  work/'  Mr.  Gary's  scheme  having  been 
approved  by  the  Corporation  as  well  as  by  a  public  meet- 
ing of  the  citizens  (the  earliest  recorded),  a  petition  was 
presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  February,  1696,  and 
an  Act  passed  in  the  course  of  the  session.  Under- ita -pro- 
visions four  "guardians"  were  -aoon  after, ..elficted  by  the 
ratepayers  of  each,  ward,  and  these  representatives,  with  the, 
mayor  and  aldermen,  who .  were  ex-officio  guardians,  held 
their  first  meeting  in  May,  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  in  the 
Guildhall,  when  Samuel  Wallis,  mayor,  a  warm  supporter 
of  Gary,  was  elected  governor,  and  Alderman  William 
Swymmer  deputy  governor.  Preliminary  discussions  and 
inquiries  occupied  the  following  months.  The  yearly 
amount  to  be  raised  by  rates  was  fixed  at  £2,370  under  the 
terms  of  the  Act,  being  the  alleged  average  outlay  of  the 
previous  three  years.  Several  parishes  had  maintained 
poorhouse^,  but  none  of  the  buildings  were  found  eligible 
for  a  general  workhouse.  The  Corporation,  however, 
granted  the  loan  of  a  house  called  Whitehall,  adjoining  y 
Bridewell,  which  was  ordered  to  be  fitted  up  for  the  recep- 1/^ 
tion  of  100  girls,  to  be  employed  in  carding  and  spinning 
wool.  The  guardians  were  thus  quietly  proceeding  with 
the  work  devolving  upon  them  when  they  were  smitten 
with  sudden  and  somewhat  ridiculous  impotence  by  an  un- 
foreseen incident.  The  mayor's  term  of  office  having  ex- 
Sired,  he  was  succeeded  in  the  chief  magistracy  by  one 
ohn  Hine,  who  was  as  antagonistic  to  the  guardians  as  his 
predecessor  had  been  helpful.  Under  the  Act,  the  mayor's 
signature  was  indispensable  to  certain  formal  documents 
required  for  putting  the  new  machinery  in  motion ;  but 
Hine  flatly  refused  to  sign  them;  and  nothing  remained  for 
the  guardians  but  to  fold  their  hands  for  a  twelvemonth. 
When  the  obstructive's  term  of  office  had  expired,  operations 
were  resumed  with  renewed  vigour ;  several  prominent 
citizens  offered  loans  to  furnish  Whitehall ;  a  master  of  that 
workhouse  was  elected  at  a  salary  of  £10,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  treat  for  the  purchase  of  "  the  Mint " — in 
other  words,  the  mansion  built  by  the  Norton  family  in  St. 
Peter  Street,  which,  after  having  been  many  years  a  sugar 


34  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1700. 

house,  had  been  hired  by  the  Government  in  1696  and  1697 
for  carrying  out  in  this  district  the  great  work  of  restoring 
the  silver  currency.  In  June,  1698,  the  Government  having 
consented  to  surrender  its  occupancy,  the  house  was  pur- 
chased for  £800  from  its  owners,  Edward  Colston,  Richard 
Beecham,  Sir  Thomas  Day  and  Nathaniel  Day,  and  the 
guardians  held  their  first  court  in  the  building  on  the  30th 
October.  In  the  meantime  another  difficulty  had  arisen  in 
the  working  of  the  new  system ;  the  overseers  of  the  city 
parishes,  annoyed  at  the  loss  of  their  former  prestige  as  dis- 
pensers of  relief,  having  refused  to  collect  the  rates  assessed 
by  the  guardians.  A  singular  expedient  was  adopted  to 
defeat  this  manoeuvre.  A  Bill  was  then  before  Parliament 
for  establishing  a  workhouse  at  Tiverton  on  the  Bristol 
model.  Into  this  Bill  the  guardians  contrived  to  obtain  the 
insertion  of  a  clause  (at  a  cost  of  £7  9«.  4d.)  which  dispensed 
with  the  signature  of  a  reactionary  mayor  like  Hine,  and 
enabled  distresses  to  be  levied  on  recalcitrant  overseers. 
The  hospital,  as  the  new  workhouse  was  styled,  now  rapidly 
progressed.  A  hundred  boys  were  received,  and  the  making 
of  fustians  and  cantaloons  began ;  ^'  a  pair  of  stocks  and  a 
whipping  post ''  being  set  up  in  the  yard,  and  a  place  of 
detention,  called  "purgatory,"  garnished  with  chains  and 
locks,  being  provided  in  the  house,  for  the  encouragement  of 
he  inmates.  As  the  outlay  was  considerable,  a  subscription, 
headed  by  the  Members  of  Parliament  for  the  city,  was 
( started  to  reduce  the  burden  on  the  ratepayers,  and  in  -two 
^ears  about  £1,700  were  received.  In  1700  was  published  a 
pamphlet,  dedicated  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  briefly 
recording  the  progress  of  the  Bristol  experiment.  From  a 
copy  of  this  rare  tract,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
fairly  attributable  to  Gary,  it  appears  that  the  boys  were 
earning  £6  weekly,  besides  being  fitted  for  an  honest  life ; 
while  the  aged  and  impotent  were  decently  maintained. 
"  The  success,"  adds  the  writer,  "  hath  answered  our  expec- 
tation ;  and  the  face  of  our  city  is  changed  already." 
(Some  years  later,  the  guardians  asserted  in  a  memorial  to 
the  Council  that  the  amount  of  the  new  poor  rate  did  not 
much  exceed  the  sum  previously  extorted  from  the  citizens 
by  strolling  beggars.)  Presently,  the  master  of  the  work- 
house reported  that  he  had  **  kept  the  fair  "  with  the  canta- 
loons made  by  the  boys,  who  had  produced  more  than  could 
be  sold.  The  manufactory  was  not  a  pecuniary  success, 
however,  and  the  guardians  will  presently  be  found  discus- 
sing other  projects  for  dealing  with  young  paupers.     The 


li 


1700.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEBNTH  CENTURY.  35 

spinning  of  woollen  by  the  girls  at  Whitehall  was  also  un- 
pit)fitable,  and  in  June,  1700,  it  was  resolved  to  employ  half 
the  inmates  in  spinning  cotton  yarn.     In  the  same  month 
the  guardians  bethought  them  that  a  little  education  might 
not  be  amiss,  whereupon  a  house  adjoining  St.  Peter's  Hos- 
pital was  bought  for  £160  and  ordered  to  be  converted  into 
a  school ;  but  the  number  of  boys  taught  to  write  was  for 
several  years  limited  to  20.     That  Gary's  project  as  a  whole  -i 
excited  much  attention  and  was  widely  approved  is  suffi-  / 
cientlv  attested  by  the  fact  of  its  being  speedily  adopted  at  i    j 
Norwich,  Exeter,  and  other  industrial  centres.  J  J 

There  is  not  much  to  be  said  respecting  the  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries  of  the  city.  They  came,  indeed,  but  little  under 
the  notice  of  the  inhabitants,  for  they  were  rarely  in  resi- 
dence. The  estates  originally  destined  for  the  endowment 
of  the  bishopric  having  been  for  the  most  part  appropriated 
by  rapacious  courtiers,  the  income  of  the  see  was  less  than  v/ 
that  of  many  country  rectories.  Amongst  the  voluminous 
papers  of  Archbishop  Bancroft,  already  referred  to,  is  a 
scheme  for  augmenting  the  revenue,  from  which  it  appears 
that  the  fixed  receipts  of  the  bishop  were  about  £360^  from  — \ , 
which  had  to  be  deducted  £150  for  certain  charges,  leaving 
a  net  receipt  of  200^.guineas.  (So  late  as  1750  tW^clear  (n-'^3) 
income  was  only  about  jESoDT)  In  a  letter  in  the  archives 
of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  dated  1677,  Bishop  Carlton  declares 
that  his  see  was  so  beggarly  as  to  make  him  a  beggar  like- 
wise, and  that  unless  the  king  would  render  him  some  addi- 
tional support  "  the  dignity  must  fall  to  the  ground,  and  I 
with  it.'*  The  bishopric,  in  fact,  was  generally  accepted  by  ^ 
an  ambitious  clergyman  only  because  he  hoped,  by  courtly 
arts,  to  make  it  a  stepping-stone  to  one  of  the  prizes  of  the  ) 
Church.  In  the  meantime,  such  occupants  pressed  for  sine- 
cures and  preferments  that  could  be  held  with  the  see.  At. 
the  time  when  Carlton  was  lamenting  his  poverty  (and  also 
harrying  local  Dissenters)  he  held  a  rich  prebend  at  Dur- 
ham, and  a  valuable  rectory  which  he  never  visited.  After 
his  intolerance  had  won  him  the  well-endowed  see  of  Chi- 
chester from  Charles  II.,  he  set  up  a  pack  of  hounds,  and 
hunted  foxes  instead  of  Nonconformists.  Bishop  Lake,  who 
held  Bristol  shortly  afterwards,  had  a  prebend  at  York,  and 
a  well-endowed  rectory  in  Lancashire.  Bishop  Trelawnj'^, 
whose  elevation,  according  to  contemporary  critics,  was  due 
to  his  military  exploits  during  the  Monmouth  rebellion,  who 
continually  "swore  like  a  trooper,"  and  who  in  later  life  was  a 
zealous  canvasser  at  county  elections,  held  many  preferments 


7 


36  THE   ANKALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1700-1. 

in  commendum,  and  often  asked  for  more.  Bishop  Hall,  who 
held  the  see  in  1700,  was  Master  of  Pembroke  College, 
Oxford,  where  he,  of  course,  resided.  His  successor,  John 
Robinson,  enjoying  also  the  deanery  of  Windsor,  was  a 
member  of  the  Government  as  Lord  Privy  Seal,  and  acted 
^  as  principal  English  diplomatist  in  arranging  the  Peace  of 
Utrecht.  As  a  natural  consequence,  the  episcopal  residence, 
which  ought  to  have  been  a  refuge  of  literature  set  in  a 
wilderness  of  counting-houses,  was  generally  deserted.  Be- 
^  sides  the  scantiness  of  the  income,  there  seems  lo  have 
been  another  reason  why  Bristolians  saw  so  little  of  the 
prelates  who  followed  each  other  in  bewildering  succession. 
In  Bishop  Tanner's  MSS ,  at  Oxford,  is  a  petition  from 
Bishop  Goulston  to  Charles  II.,  written  about  1683,  com- 
plaining that  the  dean  and  chapter  had  lately  disposed  of 
the  **  Canon's  Little  Marsh"  (the  ground  extending  from  the 
back  of  the  Cathedral  to  the  Froom)  for  the  building  and 
repairing  of  ships,  and,  the  workshops  being  contiguous  to 
the  episcopal  palace,  "  the  noise  and  stench  is  (.sic)  such  an 
intolerable  nuisance  that  your  petitioner  is  not  able  to  live 
in  any  part  of  his  house  with  any  health  or  comfort.''  The 
king  appears  to  have  treated  the  grievance  with  his  cus- 
tomary indifference.  Perhaps  he  knew  that  the  bishops 
fand  the  capitular  body  of  Bristol  lived  habitually  at  vari- 
j  ance.  The  members  of  the  chapter  had  each  a  substantial 
/  mansion  near  the  Cathedral,  but  another  of  Tanner's  papers, 
of  about  1684,  states  that  not  one  of  them  was  in  residence. 
''The  incomes,  it  is  true,  were  not  large.  The  jBxed  capitular 
revenue  in  1700  was  about  jfe700,  out  of  which  the  dean 
received  £100,  and  each  of  the  six  prebendaries  £20;  but 
/  this  did  not  include  the  fines  for  the  renewal  of  leases, 
which  were  sometimes  considerable.  In  1700  the  deanery 
was  held  by  a  man  named  George  Royse,  Provost  of  Oriel 
College,  Oxford,  whose  non-residence  cannot  have  been  a 
misfortune.  Bishop  Kennet  states  that  this  worthy,  '*in 
his  latter  days,  sank  much  into  drinking,  and  kept  an  ill 
woman,  who  came  to  Windsor  and  waited  with  him  when 
he  attended  at  chapel  to  Queen  Anne  "  (Lansdowne  MSS., 
British  Museum).  The  extreme  poverty  of  the  city  incum- 
bencies at  this  period  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 


On  the  1st  January,  1701,  in  pursuance  of  aiuancieiit 
^aady-oustom,  the  sheriffs  of  Bristm  waited  upon  the  mayor, 
and  presented  him  with  a  new  scabbard  for  the  state  sword 


1701.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  37 

iisuallj:  borne  before  him.     The  '*  scafford,"  as  it  is  called 
byHPeteFTSIugleworEETsword-bearer,  was  always  of  silver  ^  .^-V 
gilt,  and  appears  to  have  cost  the  sheriffs  about  £80.     It  is      l^  ' .» i  * 
supposed  that  each  mayor,  on  his  retirement,  retained  this     ^'.  A> 
ornament  as  a  souvenir  of  his  civic  grandeur.     The  sheriffs,  "    " 

in  return  for  the  gift,  were  each  entitled  to  a  pair  of  gold- 
fringed  gloves,  costing  about  £20.     On  the  Sunday  after  the 
presentation,  'the    "  scafford "   was  carried    to   the   mayor's 
parish  church,  and  on  th»  two  following  Sundays  to  the    ^ 
parish  churches  of  the  sheriffs,  to  rejoice  the  eyes  of  thev/ 
respective  congregations. 

The  opening  of  the  century  was  marked  in  Bristol  by  the 
introduction  of  an  improved  system  of  lighting  the  streets. 
For  the  previous  forty  years  this  service  had  been  imposed 
by  the  Corporation  upon  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  it 
thought  fit  to  select.  The  householders  so  burdened,  be- 
tween 500  and  600  in  number,  were  severally  required  to 
hang  a  lanthom  and  lighted  candle  at  their  doors  from  6 
until  9  o'clock  at  night  "during  the  winter  season,"  artificial 
light  during  the  remainder  of  the  night  and  throughout 
the  summer  months  being  deemed  a  superfluous  luxury. 
Although  defaulters  had  been  threatened  with  a  fine  of 
3«.  4rf.  for  each  infraction  of  this  order,  its  end  had  never 
been  satisfactorily  attained,  and  in  some  districts  there  were 
practically  no  lights  at  all.  In  1700,  when  the  Corporation-^ 
was  seeking  legislative  powers  to  suppress  nuisances  in  the 
Avon  and  Froom,  which,  said  the  preamble  of  the  Bill,  were 
the  receptacles  of  most  of  the  ashes  and  filth  of  the  city,  it 
occurred  to  some  one  that  the  opportunity  should  be  seized 
to  institute  a  better  lighting  system,  and  three  clauses 
were  tacked  to  the  scheme  whilst  it  was  passing  through 
Parliament.  They  enacted  that  every  householder  paying 
2^/.  per  week  towards  the  relief  of  the  poor  should,  from 
Michaelmas  to  Lady  Day,  hang  out  a  lighted  lanthom  at  his 
street  door  from  dusk  to  midnight ;  but  it  was  provided  that 
if  any  parish  agreed  to  pay  a  lighting  rate,  and  erected  as 
many  lamps  as  were  approved  by  the  justices,  the  parish- 
ioners should  be  relieved  of  the  personal  burden.  It  was 
characteristic  of  the  Corporation  that  while  lights  were 
required  to  be  maintained  before  churches,  and  buildings 
like  the  Merchants'  Hall,  the  Act  was  silent  respecting  the 
Guildhall  and  the  Council  House.  A  little  time  was  needed 
to  put  the  parochial  machinery  in  operation,  but  the  new 
arrangement  was  at  work  in  January,  1701.  On  the  23rd 
of  that  month  the  Common  Council  confirmed  the  following 


38  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1701. 

report  from  the  mayor  and  aldermen :  "  The  parishioners  of 
Christ  Church  having  at  their  charges  set  upp  a  larg  fair 
double  glass  lamp  at  the  comer  of  their  church  for  en- 
lightening the  streets  there,  and  applying  for  some  con- 
tribution towards  the  same,  which  request  the  maior  and 
aldermen  thought  reasonable,  for  that  the  chamber,  which 
used  to  be  at  the  charge  of  a  lanthorn  and  candle  at  the  end 
of  High  Street  for  enlightening  the  Tolzey  is  by  means  of 
that  lamp  eased  of  that  charge,  the  said  lamp  affording  far 
greater  light  than  can  be  expected  from  many  candles  in 
lanthorns,  and  being  of  great  credit  and  reputacon  to  the 
city,  Do  think  proper  that  the  yearly  sum  of  bOs.  should  be 
allowed."  An  early  arrangement  for  parochial  lighting  under 
the  Act  further  illustrates  the  corporate  idea  of  what  was 
needful  for  the  public  convenience.  The  parishioners  of  St. 
Stephen's  escaped  the  personal  burden  on  consenting  to 
pay  collectively  for  twelve  lamps  in  that  extensive  parish, 
Prince's  Street,  Queen  Square,  and  the  Quay  being  allotted 
two  each.  The  arrangement  made  for  St.  Peter's  parish  is 
shown  by  the  following  invoice,  preserved  in  the  Jefferies' 
collection  : — *'  April  ye  1st  1704.  Mr.  Charles  Bearpacker 
for  St.  Peter's  parish  is  to  Daniel  Fry  and  Wm.  Curd  Dr. 
ffor  maintaining  with  Oyl,  Lighters,  &c.,  five  Lamps,  also 
I  of  one  more  Lamp  and  J  of  another  from  Xmas  last  to  our 
Lady  Day  £6  8.v.  4d."  It  will  be  observed  that  lighting 
was  wholly  discontinued  from  the  25th  March  to  the  29th 
September.  The  above  Act  also  required  householders  to 
sweep  the  streets  twice  a  week  in  front  of  their  respective 
doors ;  a  rate  was  to  be  levied  for  the  hiring  of  scavengers 
to  remove  the  refuse ;  and  the  Corporation  was  to  fix  certain 
places  where  it  should  be  deposited,  the  pollution  of  the 
rivers  being  prohibited  under  penalties. 

In  the  closing  months  of  1700,  the  Post  Ofiice  authorities 
in  London,  after  being  earnestly  petitioned  by  local  mer- 
chants, counselled  the  Grovernment  to  establish  a  '*  cross 
post"  from  this  city  to  Chester.  Up  to  that  time,  Bristol 
letters  to  Chester,  Shrewsbury,  Worcester,  and  apparently 
Gloucester,  had  been  carried  round  by  London,  involving 
double  postage  and  great  delay.  The  effect  of  this  system 
had  been  to  throw  nearly  all  the  letters  into  the  hands  of 
public  carriers,  by  whose  wagons  they  were  conveyed  more 
quickly  than  by  the  post-boys  and  at  a  cheaper  rate. 
Moved  by  the  success  of  the  cross  post  from  Bristol  to 
Exeter,  established  in  1697,  and  producing  a  "  neat  profit  " 
of  £360  yearly,  the  Treasury  consented  to  the  starting  of  a 


1701.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  89 

similar  service  to  Chester,  commencing  at  Michaelmas, 
17U0.  The  people  of  Cirencester  and  Exeter,  hearing  of 
this  concession,  hastened  to  complain  of  shortcomings  affect- 
ing themselves.  The  Devon  clothiers  had  a  considerable 
trade  with  the  wool  dealers  of  Cirencester,  which  town  was 
served  by  post-boys  riding  between  Gloucester  and  London, 
with  a  branch  mail  to  Wotton-under-Edge.  But  there  being 
no  postal  service  of  any  kind  between  Bristol  and  Wotton, 
correspondence  betwixt  Exeter  and  Cirencester  had  to  be 
sent  vid  London,  and  a  fortnight  elapsed  between  the 
despatch  of  a  letter  and  the  receipt  of  an  answer,  the  result 
being  that  not  one  letter  in  twenty  was  sent  through  the 
post.  All  that  was  needed  to  shorten  the  transit  from  four- 
teen days  to  four  was  to  put  Bristol  in  communication  with 
Wotton,  the  expense  being  estimated  at  £30  a  year.  But 
the  Grovernment  declined  to  comply,  and  nothing  was  done. 
(As  a  further  illustration  of  the  embarrassments  of  the  time, 
it  may  be  stated  that  in  January,  1701,  when  some  deeds 
had  to  be  conveyed  for  execution  to  Leicester,  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Bristol  was  obliged  to  send  its  agent,  with  a  servant 
and  guideSj  all  on  horseback,  to  the  midland  town,  the 
journey  occupying  nearly  a  fortnight,  and  costing  £10.) 
Returning  to  the  Chester  post,  the  Post  Office  reported  to 
the  Treasury  in  March,  1702,  that  the  profit  for  the  first 
eighteen  months  had  been  only  £1B6.  The  additional 
expense  in  future  would  be  about  £80  a  year,  and  as  the 
double  postages  earned  when  letters  went  round  by  London 
were  lost,  they  apprehended  a  net  diminution  in  the 
revenue.  The  accounts  of  Henry  Pyne,  the  Bristol  post- 
master, appended  to  the  report  in  the  State  Papers,  show 
that  he  had  received  £168  for  letters  by  this  post,  whilst  his 
expenses  had  been  £60. 

This  mention  of  the  Bristol  postal  official  appropriately 
introduces  a  document  describing  the  humble  dimensions  of 
the  establishment  under  his  control.  In  the  bargain  books 
of  the  Corporation  is  the  following  memorandum  : — "  22 
June,  1700.  Then  agreed  by  the  surveyors  of  the  city  lands 
with  Henry  Pine,  Deputy  Postmaster,  that  he  the  said 
Henry  Pine  shall  have  hold  and  enjoy  the  ground  whereon 
now  stands  a  shedd  having  therein  four  severall  shopps 
scituate  in  All  Saints  Lane,  and  as  much  more  ground  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  same  shedd  as  that  the  whole  ground 
shall  contain  in  length  twenty  seven  foot,  and  to  contain  in 
breadth  from  the  outside  of  the  churchyard  wall  five  foot 
and  a  half  outward  into  the  lane,  with  liberty  to  build  upon 


40  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1701. 

the  same  "for  conveniency  of  a  post  office,  (viz.)  the  first  story 
to  come  forth  into  the  said  lane  to  the  extent  of  that  ground 
and  no  farther,  and  the  second  story  to  have  a  truss  of  18 
inches  over  the  lane,  or  more,  as  the  said  surveyors  shall 
think  fitt,  that  persons  coming  to  the  post  office  may  have 
shelter  from  the  rain  and  stand  in  the  dry.  To  hold  the 
same  from  Michaelmas  next  for  60  years  absolute  under  the 
yearly  rent  of  30s.  clear  of  taxes."  This  agreement  must 
have  been  afterwards  modified.  Perhaps  possession  could 
not  be  obtained  of  one  of  the  "shopps,''  the  frontage  of 
which,  including  the  doorway,  measured,  it  will  be  seen, 
only  about  six  feet  each.  (Attorneys'  offices  were  of  an 
equally  humble  character.  By  a  will  dated  in  May,  1708, 
an  attorney  named  Martyn  Nelme  bequeathed  to  his  wife 
his  "office,  shed,  or  penthouse  in  All  Saints*  Lane,"  held  by 
lease  from  the  Corporation.)  At  all  events  Pjme  paid  no  rent 
until  Michaelmas,  1705,  when  2bs.  were  received  by  the 
chamberlain,  and  "  the  Posthouse "  produced  the  same 
yearly  sum  until  1742,  when  the  rent  was  raised  to  £3,  for 
reasons  that  do  not  appear. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  notice  the  innumerable  discussions 
on  the  badness  of  the  roads  which  are  recorded  in  the  civic 
records.  The  first  of  the  century  may  serve  as  an  example. 
In  February,  1701,  the  churchwardens  of  Temple  drew 
attention  to  the  lamentable  state  of  the  great  road  leading 
"  from  Temple  Gate  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill  near  Totter- 
down  Castle."  (The  latter  spot  probably  owed  its  name  to 
some  remains  of  the  defences  raised  during  the  Civil  War.) 
The  Common  Council  contributed  £20  towards  the  repairs, 
and  shortly  after  voted  £30  more,  owing  to  the  heaviness  of 
the  outlay. 

In  July,  1701,  the  vestry  of  St.  Nicholas'  parish  resolved 
upon  demising,  upon  a  lease  for  three  lives,  an  estate  called 
the  Forlorn  Hope,  near  Baptist  Mills,  purchased  by  the 
vestry  in  1693,  mainly  from  charity  funds,  for  £690.  The 
estate,  which  comprised  a  house  and  fourteen  acres  of  land, 
was  let  in  the  following  month  to  James  Bush,  linen  dyer, 
for  40s,  a  year,  in  consideration  of  a  payment  of  £360,  and  of 
two  guineas  (to  be  spent  at  a  tavern)  on  the  sealing  of  the 
lease.  A  renewal  of  the  term  took  place  on  the  dropping  of 
a  life  in  1720,  when  a  fine  of  £240  was  demanded.  The 
land  has  been  in  our  own  time  converted  into  building  sites, 
and  the  annual  ground  rents  of  the  property  must  far 
exceed  the  sum  which  was  originally  given  for  the  fee- 
simple.     With  reference  to  the  above  provision  for  a  drink*- 


1701.]  IN  THB  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  41 

ing  bout,  it  may  be  added  that  no  lesise  was  signed  or  any 
other  parochial  business  transacted  by  the  vestries  of  that 
age  without  an  adjournment  to  a  wine  shop.  In  the  St. 
Nicholas'  accounts  for  1746-7  is  the  following  entry : — 
"  Paid  for  wine,  and  spent  with  the  vestry  of  St.  Leonards, 
and  signing  leases  £11  17/?." — a  sum  then  sufficient  to 
purchase  an  enormous  quantity  of  liquor. 

Attention  will  be  directed  at  a  later  period  to  the 
capricious  treatment  of  condemned  felons  by  the  magistracy 
of  the  city.  At  the  gaol  delivery  in  September,  1701,  one 
John  Rudge  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  for 
horse-stealing.  As  he  was  a  lusty  young  fellow,  however, 
he  was  shortly  afterwards  pardoned,  on  condition  of  his 
entering  the  army !  This  system  of  dealing  with  thieves, 
which  was  common  during  the  greater  part  of  the  century, 
accounts  for  the  frequency  of  violent  crimes  committed  by 
soldiers  quartered  in  the  city. 

Amongst  the  devices  for  raising  money  attempted  by  the 
impecunious  Gro^ernment  of  William  III.  was  a  tax  on 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths.  The  birth  of  a  child  was 
taxed  upon  a  sliding  scale ;  the  son  of  a  duke  brought  in 
£26,  and  the  impost  gradually  fell  to  128.  on  each  child  of 
persons  worth  £600  in  personal  estate,  and  to  28.  on  the 
infants  of  labourers.  A  marriage  amongst  the  commonalty 
incurred  a  duty  of  2^.  6d.,  and  the  charge  rose  to  £50  for  the 
nuptials  of  a  duke.  Similarly,  the  tax  on  burials  varied 
from  £50  to  is.  Paupers  were  exempt  from  the  impost  on 
births,  but  not  from  that  on  burials.  The  two  last-named 
burdens  were  repealed  in  1700,  but  that  on  marriages  con- 
tinued until  1706.  In  1701  the  Corporation  was  applied  to 
by  a  Government  official  for  the  arrears  of  the  burial  tax 
due  on  account  of  several  Bristol  paupers  ;  but  the  Common 
Council  repudiated  its  liability,  and  ordered  payment  to  be 
made  by  the  poor  law  guardians. 

Another  curious  Act  of  Parliament  came  into  operation  on 
the  29th  September,  1701,  and  caused  much  discontent 
amongst  the  fair  sex.  Since  trade  with  France  had  re^ 
opened  in  1696,  the  use  of  woollen  cloth  for  female  attire, 
previously  universal,  had  been  diminished  by  a  growing 
taste  for  foreign  silk,  and  other  light  material.  Bitter 
complaints  of  the  change  in  fashion  were  raised  by  the 
clothiers  of  Bristol  and  the  western  counties,  who  repre- 
sented to  the  House  of  Commons  that  the  popularity  of 
French  and  Indian  .tissues  threatened  ruin  to  their  industry. 
The  clamour  forced   the  Government   to   take  legislative 


42  THE   AKNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1701. 

action,  and  the  use  of  foreign-made  silks  and  calicoes  was 
absolutely  prohibited  after  the  above  date.  Ladies'  tastes, 
however,  were  not  to  be  changed  by  Act  of  Parliament. 
The  smuggling  of  French  silks  enormously  increased,  and 
it  is  said  that  some  Bristol  mercers,  playing  on  feminine 
weakness,  were  adroit  enough  to  pass  off  large  quantities  of 
home-made  silks  as  contraband  imports  from  across  the 
Channel. 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place  in  November, 
when  the  country  was  in  a  flame  at  the  intelligence  that 
Louis  XIV.  had  just  acknowledged  the  son  of  James  11.  as 
rightful  King  of  England.  No  information  can  be  dis- 
covered respecting  the  election  for  Bristol,  saving  that  the 
members  returned  were  Whigs — Sir  William  Daines,  whose 
mayoralty  had  ended  a  few  weeks  previous,  and  Colonel 
Robert  Yate,  also  a  former  mayor,  and  a  wealthy  and 
public-spirited  alderman.  The  contest  for  Gloucestershire 
on  this  occasion  excited  intense  interest  in  the  political 
world,  and  readers  of  Lord  Macaulay's  History  are  aware 
that  his  work  stops  short  in  the  midst  of  a  brilliant  account 
of  the  struggle.  It  may  be  useful,  therefore,  to  state  that 
John  Howe,  one  of  the  former  members,  whom  Lord 
Stanhope  describes  as  an  insolent  and  unscrupulous  defamer 
of  William  III.,  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  nearly  a 
thousand.  The  Parliament  had  a  brief  career,  the  death  of 
the  king  in  the  following  March  necessitating  another 
dissolution.  The  members  for  Bristol  were  re-elected, 
probably  without  opposition.  Howe  again  came  forward 
for  Gloucestershire,  and,  although  at  the  bottom  of  the  poll, 
he  was  declared  duly  elected  by  a  sheriff  of  kindred 
principles. 

Down  to  this  date  the  Society  of  Merchant  Venturers 
were  content  to  assemble  in  what  had  once  been  the  chapel 
of  St.  Clement,  at  the  end  of  Marsh  Street,  but  which  was 
desecrated  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  Having  become 
dissatisfied  with  this  building,  the  Company,  in  1701,  erected 
a  new  hall  of  much  larger  dimensions  upon  the  site  and 
some  adjoining  vacant  ground.  In  1721  there  was,  says 
Tucker's  MS.,  "  a  further  addition  to  the  grandeur  of  the 
hall  by  pulling  down  several  old  tenements  and  erecting  a 
sett  of  steps  there."  A  view  of  this  hall,  which  may  have 
been  commodious,  but  was  certainly  not  ornamental,  will 
be  found  in  Barrett's  History.  The  present  front  was  added 
in  1790,  when  the  building  underwent  extensive  alterations. 

The  first  house  erected  in  the  Marsh  (afterwards  Queeu 


1701-2.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  43 

Square)  was  finished  during  the  year  1701.  The  builder 
was  the  Rev.  John  Reade,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  St.  Nicholas,  who, 
by  an  agreement  with  the  Corporation  dated  October  27th, 
1699,  obtained  a  lease  of  the  site  for  five  lives,  at  a  rental 
of  40/?.,  "  being  1**.  per  foot  in  front,''  on  his  undertaking  to 
build  a  house  40  feet  high,  with  a  brick  front  and  stone 
groins,  within  two  years.  This  was  probably  one  of  the 
first  brick  dwellings  constructed  within  the  city  walls.  It 
is  somewhat  incomprehensibly  described  in  a  later  deed  as 
standing  at  "  the  east  (north  ?)  comer  of  the  east  row." 
Other  sites  were  leased  on  the  same  terms,  but  as  the 
lives  fell  in  pressure  was  put  upon  the  Corporation  for  a 
relaxation  of  the  conditions,  and  renewals  were  granted, 
first  for  a  term  of  fifty-three  years,  and  afterwards  for  one 
of  forty  years,  renewable  every  fourteen  years  on  payment 
of  a  year's  rent. 

The  Merchant  Tailors'  Almshouse  in  Merchant  Street 
(then  called  Marshall  Street)  was  also  built  in  1701,  when 
the  inmates  removed  from  the  old  hospital  of  the  Company 
in  Marsh  Street. 

The  Quakers  of  Bristol  and  the  neighbourhood  established, 
in  1699,  a  boarding  school  at  Sidcot,  Somerset,  which  had  a 
long  and  prosperous  career.  The  fee  for  teaching  was  20*. 
annually,  10*.  extra  being  charged  for  classics.  The  cost  of 
boarding  was  £9,  but  in  1701  complaints  were  raised  that 
this  was  excessive,  and  it  appears  from  the  records  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  that  the  charge  at  their  boarding  school 
at  Skipton  in  1728  was  only  £8  a  year,  teaching  included. 

The  accession  of  Queen  Anne  was  proclaimed  early  in 
March,  1702,  with  the  ceremonies  customary  on  such  occa- 
sions. The  disbursements  of  the  Corporation  amounted  to 
£21  bs.,  about  £7  of  which  was  "  for  wine  drunk  at  the 
Raven"  ;  £2  for  "  wine  at  the  Bull,"  and  £6  for  ''  wine  that 
the  constables  drunk."  Her  Majesty  was  crowned  on  the 
23rd  April,  amidst  much  popular  rejoicing;  for  the  late 
King's  excessive  attachment  to  the  Dutchmen  who  had 
come  over  with  him  had  caused  much  discontent,  while  the 
devotion  to  English  interests  adroitly  expressed  by  Anne  in 
her  first  speech  to  her  subjects  had  naturally  kindled  their 
enthusiasm.  There  was  a  grand  corporate  procession  to  the 
Cathedral,  a  novel  feature  amongst  the  inevitable  civic 
functionaries,  city  companies,  school  children,  and  bands 
of  music,  being  ''  twenty  four  young  maidens,  dressed  in 
night  rails  and  white  hoods,  with  fans  in  their  hands,  being 
led,  as  their  captain,  by  a  comely  young  woman,  clad  in  a 


44  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1702. 

close  white  dress,  wearing  on  her  head  a  perriwig  and 
plumed  liat,  carrying  in  her  hand  a  half-pike/'  to  the  ad- 
miration of  all  spectators.  Moreover,  there  were  "twenty 
four  young  damsels  in  sarsnet  hoods,''  armed  with  gilded 
bows  and  arrows;  also  "the  principal  citizens'  daughters 
wearing  branches  of  laurel,"  two  of  them  supporting  a 
gorgeous  crown  ;  and  finally  "  Madame  Mayoress,"  and  the 
wives  of  the  aldermen  and  common  councillors,  "  splendidly 
apparelled,  with  the  city  music  sweetly  playing  before 
them."  The  streets,  churches,  houses,  and  ships  were 
plentifully  decorated.  The  great  guns  in  the  Marsh  fired 
numberless  salutes.  And  for  a  certain  time  the  conduits, 
decorated  with  garlands,  ran  wine  for  the  delectation  of 
such  of  the  mob  as  could  get  at  them.  In  the  evening  a 
party  of  young  men,  wearing  "  i'urbelo'd  "  white  shirts  over 
their  clothes,  led  into  the  streets  an  equal  number  of  young 
women  in  white  waistcoats,  red  petticoats,  night  head- 
dresses, and  laced  hats.  These  strangely  accoutred  revellers 
were  followed  by  other  men,  bearing  an  effigy  of  the  Popa, 
arrayed  in  glaring  robes  and  gilded  tiara,  and  surrounded 
by  unsaintly  counsellors  with  masks  and  croziers.  Having 
paraded  this  mockery  to  their  hearts'  content,  the  populace 
flung  it  into  one  of  the  numerous  bonfires  amidst  loud 
acclamations.  The  Corporation  spent  £53  2s.  lOd,  over  the 
day's  rejoicings,  of  which  more  than  three-fifths  went  for 
wine,  £7  19^.  for  gunpowder,  2«.  for  a  pound  of  tobacco,  and 
7s.  6rf.  for  "  hanging  the  High  Cross."  Even  this  demon- 
stration of  loyalty  seems  colourless  when  compared  with 
the  great  local  event  of  the  year.  In  August  the  Queen, 
who  was  a  constant  suflferer  from  gout,  paid  a  visit  to  Bath 
for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  efficacy  of  the  waters.  The 
Corporation  lost  no  time  in  appointing  a  committee  to  wait 
upon  her,  with  an  earnest  prayer  to  visit  the  city.  Her 
Majesty  had  had  previous  experience  of  the  good  feeling 
of  the  civic  body.  Some  years  before,  whilst  sojourning  at 
Bath,  the  Common  Council  had  forwarded  to  the  Princess  of 
Denmark  a  gift  of  sixty  dozen  of  wine,  besides  a  hogshead 
of  sack  sent  on  to  London.  Moved,  perhaps,  by  this  re- 
miniscence, she  received  the  deputation  cordially,  and  re- 
sponded to  its  wishas  by  graciously  consenting  to  spend  a 
few  hours  in  Bristol.  The  royal  party,  occupying  thirteen 
coaches,  each  with  six  horses,  set  out  from  Bath  on  the 
morning  of  the  3rd  September.  The  only  practicable  coach- 
road  between  the  two  cities  was  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Avon ;  but  as  the  portion  between  Bath  and  Kelston  wa3 


1702.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  45 

then  founderous,  while  the  narrow  track  by  Keynsham  was 
in  a  still  worse  condition,  the  carriages  proceeded  as  far  as 
Newton  St.  Loe,  forded  the  river  at  Swinford,  and  then 
traversed  the  usual  course  through  Kings  wood.  Her  Majesty 
was  received  at  Lawford's  Gate  by  the  mayor  (John  Hawkins) 
and  the  rest  of  the  civic  functionaries,  arrayed  in  their 
scarlet  paraphernalia.  The  corporators  on  this  great  occasion 
had  mounted  on  horseback,  to  the  no  small  tribulation  and 
alarm,  we  may  feel  assured,  of  those  unaccustomed  to  that 
mode  of  travelling.  Mr.  Seyer  has  copied  from  a  con- 
temporary chronicle  so  lengthy  a  description  of  the  subse- 
quent proceedings  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  details. 
Her  Majesty  was  conducted  into  the  city  amidst  the  cheering 
of  the  multitude  lining  the  way,  passed  under  a  gaily  orna- 
mented triumphal  arch  at  St.  Nicholas'  Gate,  and  descended 
from  her  carriage  at  the  **  great  house  "  of  Sir  Thomas  Day, 
at  the  south  end  of  the  bridge.  There  she  dined,  having 
first  knighted  the  mayor,  and  permitted  the  mayoress  and 
other  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  kiss  her  hand.  From  a 
curious  note  in  the  minute  book  of  the  Gloucestershire 
Society,  it  appears  that  that  body  postponed  its  annual 
feast,  and  *^  at  the  request  of  the  city  spared  the  provision  " 
made  for  it,  in  order  that  her  Majesty  might  be  the  better 
entertained.  During  dinner  a  salute  was  fired  by  100  guns 
planted  in  the  Marsh,  the  cannon  of  the  numerous  ships  in 
the  harbour  adding  their  tribute  to  the  din.  As  soon  as  the 
repast  was  over,  at  five  o'clock,  the  Queen  re-entered  her 
carriage,  and  the  royal  party  set  off  again  by  the  same 
route  for  Bath,  which  was  not  reached  until  long  after 
nightfall.  This  visit  cost  the  Corporation  £466;  out  of 
which  a  firm  of  vintners  got  £110,  while  the  baker's  bill 
amounted  only  to  lOs,  6rf. — facts  which  remind  one  of 
FalstafTs  famous  little  account.  The  loan  of  pewter  plates 
and  cups — indicating  the  furniture  of  the  dinner  table — cost 
£12  12s.  The  sum  of  £6  14«.  was  paid  for  glasses ;  "  beer 
from  the  mayor's  brewery"  ran  up  to  £11  16^.,  but  only  2is, 
were  spent  in  "  decorating  the  banqueting  hall  with  flowers." 
Sir  Thomas  Day  received  £22  Ids,  for  the  use  of  his  mansion. 
The  oddest  item  enumerated  in  the  long  account  is:  — 
"  Apothecary,  2s,  4d."  What  he  furnished  remains  a  mystery. 
To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  auspicious  day,  the  mayor 
and  aldermen  resolved,  on  the  10th  December,  "  that  the 
square  now  building  in  the  Marsh  shall  be  called  Queen 
Square  "  ;  and  soon  afterwards  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller  received 
a  commission  to  paint  her  Majesty's  portrait,  for  which  he 


46  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1702. 

was  paid  £20  in  the  following  summer.  In  connection  with 
this  royal  visit,  a  legend  has  become  attached  to  an  old 
mansion  at  Barton  Hill,  now  popularly  called  "  Queen  Anne's 
house,''  where  her  Majesty  is  alleged  to  have  rested  previous 
to  entering  the  city.  Such  an  incident,  had  it  occurred, 
would  scarcely  have  been  omitted  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
day.  The  house  is  known  to  have  belonged  to  the  mayor, 
and  it  is  probable  that  it  was  selected  as  a  convenient 
rendezvous  for  the  members  of  the  Corporation  whilst  await- 
ing the  Queen's  arrival. 

In  the  spring  of  1702  the  dilapidated  condition  of  Foster's 
Almshouse  being  reported  to  tne  Common  Council,  it  was 
ordered  that  the  building  be  taken  down  and  reconstructed, 
at  an  expenditure  "not  to  exceed  £400."  The  meanness 
and  narrow  accommodation  of  the  new  structure  were  the 
unavoidable  consequences  of  this  resolution.  It  was  wholly 
swept  away  in  1883,  when  the  present  building  was  com- 
pleted. 

During  the  summer  of  1702,  whilst  the  great  philan- 
thropist, Edward  Colston,  was  temporarily  residing  in  the 
city  (he  had  been  drawn  from  his  house  near  London  in 
the  closing  months  of  the  previous  year  by  the  fatal  illness 
of  his  mother),  he  appears  to  have  acquainted  the  Corpora- 
tion with  his  desire  to  make  a  large  endowment  for  local 
educational  purposes.  The  details  are  unfortunately  lost, 
for  the  civic  records  throw  no  light  upon  the  precise  nature 
of  his  communication.  That  it  was  deemed  of  considerable 
importance  seems  proved  b}''  the  fact  that  he  was  requested 
to  sit  for  his  portrait  to  a  London  artist,  who  executed  the 
picture  still  in  the  Council  House.  (The  cost,  including  the 
frame  and  the  case  in  which  it  was  forwarded,  was  £17 
1  !.«<.).  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital  boys,  increased  in  1701  to 
forty,  were  lodged  and  taught  in  the  crumbling  monastic 
buildings  formerly  belonging  to  the  fraternity  of  "  the 
Gaunts."  At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  on  the  8th 
August,  a  resolution  was  passed  setting  forth  "  that  Mr. 
Edward  Colston,  a  very  great  benefactor  to  this  city  by 
several  charities  and  bounties,"  had  that  day  proposed  to 
add  a  further  number  of  boys  to  those  settled  in  tiie  hospital, 
and  ordering  that  a  deputation  should  wait  upon  him  with 
the  thanks  of  the  Council.  The  biographer  of  Colston  has 
hastily  inferred  that  the  "  proposal "  here  spoken  of  related 
to  an  addition  pf  four  boys  which  was  temporarily  made  to 
the  school  soon  after  this  time  at  the  cost  of  the  philan- 
thropist.    But  this  supposition  seems  irreconcilable  with  the 


1702.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  47 

terms  of  a  document  which  was  signed  by  Colston  and 
several  leading  citizens  on  the  26th  August,  only  a  few 
days  later.  The  paper  in  question  contains  an  undertaking 
on  the  part  of  the  si^atories  to  subscribe  "towards  the 
pulling  down  the  hospital  and  rebuilding  it  convenient  for 
the  accommodation  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  poar  boys  '^ ; 
and  the  name  of  Edward  Colston  heads  the  list,  with  a 
written  promise  to  give  £500.  The  names  of  twenty  mem- 
bers of  the  Corporation  follow,  their  donations  amounting  to 
£1,400.  (The  paper  was  probably  drawn  up  and  signed  at 
the  school,  for  an  item  in  the  civic  accounts,  already  referred 
to,  shows  that  the  civic  body  visited  the  hospital  in  company 
with  Colston.)  It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
parties  to  this  agreement  proposed  to  contribute  large  sums 
towards  accommodating  120  boys  without  having  reasons 
for  believing  that  the  existing  forty  scholars  were  likely  to 
be  largely  increased.  And  as  Colston  certainly  made  some 
overture  to  the  Council  to  furnish  funds  for  the  maintenance 
of  fifty  or  sixty  more  lads,  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  his  "proposal"  was  then  under  consideration.  Much 
contempt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  city  authorities  for  the 
ignorance  and  indifference  to  education  they  are  said  to 
have  betrayed  in  declining  Colston's  offer.  But  their  con- 
duct admits  of  a  worthier  interpretation.  A  body  of  men 
who  had  subscribed  £1,400  (which,  considering  the  com- 
mercial incomes  of  the  age,  would  now  be  equivalent  to 
nearly  £5,000)  towards  enlarged  school  buildings  cannot 
have  been  so  selfish,  churlish,  and  sordid  as  has  been  gratui- 
tously asserted.  And  when  it  is  remembered  that  Colston 
afterwards  deliberately  excluded  from  his  school  the  children 
of  Dissenters,  and  strictly  forbade  the  use,  in  Temple  charity 
school,  of  books  containing  any  "  tincture  of  Whiggism," 
one  may  not  unreasonably  assume  that,  when  he  proposed 
to  make  a  munificent  addition  to  the  funds  of  Queen  Eliza- 
l)eth's  Hospital,  he  sought  to  impose  conditions  as  to  the 
future  management  of  the  institution  which  its  governors 
were  justified  in  rejecting.  (To  deepen  the  discredit  of  the 
Common  Council  it  has  been  alleged  oy  the  same  critic  that 
"  their  autographs  were  crosses  and  unsightly  blotches," 
and  that  they  could  see  no  utility  in  a  school,  because  "  they 
could  not  write  "  themselves.  These  assertions,  when  tested 
by  the  corporate  minute  books,  which  every  councillor 
signed  on  his  admission,  only  afford  another,  and  unfor- 
tunately a  needless,  proof  of  the  prejudices  and  blundering 
that  disfigure  the  censor's   work.)     The  rebuilding  of  the 


48  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1702. 

hospital  began  in  the  early  months  of  1703,  when  a  house 
was  taken  for  the  temporal^  accommodation  of  the  scholars. 
In  1706  the  Corporation  made  another  arrangement,  by 
which  the  boys  were  boarded  and  educated  in  St.  Peter's 
Hospital,  a  weekly  allowance  of  2.s\  Gd.  per  head  being  paid 
for  victuals,  firing,  washing,  and  lodging.  The  new  and 
stately  buildings  adjoining  St.  Mark's  Chapel  were  fin- 
ished in  the  following  year,  at  a  cost  of  about  £2,600,  of 
which  nearly  £600  were  drawn  from  the  funds  of  the 
hospital,  and  the  boys  took  possession  in  September,  1706. 

At  the  summer  assizes  in  1702  Mr.  Justice  Powell  was 
entertained  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Alderman  Lane,  who  re- 
mitted to  the  city  chamberlain  a  detailed  account  of  his 
expenditure  during  the  visit.  The  items  for  food  show  the 
remarkable  cheapness  of  provisions.  For  two  turkeys,  six 
ducks,  four  capons,  and  twelve  pullets,  the  outlay  was  only 
£2  3^.  (Five  turkeys  and  six  geese  cost  12s.  3d,  in  1708.) 
A  buck  cost  £2  2**.  6d. ;  and  fruit,  vegetables,  and  "  harti- 
choaks  "  £1  4^.  3d.  His  lordship's  wine-bill  amounted  to 
£10  8s.,  although  sherry  was  then  only  7s.  a  gallon  ;  and  he 
required  two  pounds  of  tobacco,  and  two  gross  (288)  pipes. 
Lemons  were  6s.  a  dozen,  and  4**.  Qd.  were  paid  for  a  pound 
of  "  choclat.^'  Neither  tea  nor  coflfee  appears  in  the  bill, 
which  amounted  to  £28  5^.  Id.  The  chief  justices  travelled 
the  circuit  in  coaches  with  six  horses,  but  the  puisne  judges 
seem  to  have  progressed  on  horseback,  accompanied 
by  a  large  staff  of  servants.  In  1710  Chief  Justice  Parker 
had  twenty-one  "  saddle  horses."  Food  and  stabling 
for  the  animals  were  provided  by  the  Corporation,  which 
also  paid  the  farrier  for  shoeing  them  and  the  coachmaker 
for  repairing  the  carriages,  which  were  alwajs  dilapidated, 
owing  to  the  badness  of  the  roads. 

As  Bristol  was  at  this  time  the  second  city  in  the  king- 
dom as  regarded  manufactures  and  commerce,  it  was  fitting 
that  she  should  be  the  first  to  follow  the  example  of  London 
in  the  establishment  of  a  newspaper.  Such  of  the  local 
annalists  as  have  not  deemed  journalism  unworthy  of  the 
dignity  of  history  have  denied  the  city  a  newspaper  until 
1716.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Bristol  Post-Boy  was  pub- 
lished in  Corn  Street  by  William  Bonny  in  1702.  A  copy 
of  the  first  number  not  having  been  preserved,  the  precise 
date  of  its  publication  is  uncertain.  The  earliest  copy 
known  to  be  in  existence  was  issued  on  the  12th  August, 
1704,  and  is  numbered  91,  from  which  it  might  be  inferred 
that  Bonny  started  his  enterprise  in  November,  1702.     The 


1702.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  49 

early  printers,  however,  were  singularly  careless  in  numera- 
tion. As  an  example,  the  Post-Boy  issued  on  the  20th 
March,  1708,  was  numbered  281,  and  that  published  on 
Sept.  10th,  1709,  nearly  eighteen  months  later,  bears  the 
number  287.  All  that  can  be  positively  affirmed,  therefore, 
is  that  the  paper  was  in  existence  in  1702,  or  four  years 
before  the  appearance  of  the  Norwich  Postman^  which  his- 
torians of  the  press  have  hitherto  asserted  to  be  the  earliest 
provincial  English  journal.  The  publisher  of  the  Bristol 
Post'Boy,  William  Bonny,  has  been  already  briefly  men- 
tioned. Having  been  unfortunate  as  a  London  printer,  he 
seems  to  have  thought  that  a  busy  port  like  Bristol  pre- 
sented favourable  ground  for  setting  up  a  press,  and  his 
petition  for  leave  to  do  so  was  laid  before  the  Common 
Council  in  April,  1695.  The  Chamber,  being  of  opinion 
that  "  a  printing  house  would  be  useful  in  several  respects,'* 
conferred  the  freedom  of  the  city  upon  him,  on  condition 
that  he  became  an  inhabitant ;  but  for  the  protection  of  the 
existing  booksellers  he  was  restrained  from  exercising  "  any 
other  trade  but  that  of  a  printer."  He  lost  no  time  in  re- 
moving from  London,  but  cannot  at  that  time  have  con- 
templated the  starting  of  a  newspaper  ;  for  until  May,  1695, 
when  the  censorship  of  the  press  came  unexpectedly  to  an 
end,  there  was  no  newspaper  even  in  the  capital  save  the 
official  Gazette.  Bonny's  first  known  production  in  his  new 
home  was  a  pamphlet  on  English  trade,  written  by  John 
Gary,  to  whom  the  city  owes  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor. 
This  is  dated  on  the  title-page  "  November,  1695."  Li  the 
session  of  Parliament  which  opened  in  the  same  month  a 
Bill  was  introduced  to  "regulate  printing,"  whereupon 
Gary,  dreading  the  revival  of  restrictions,  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  members  for  the  city,  desiring  them  to  take  measures 
for  safeguarding  the  only  press  in  Bristol.  Mr.  Yate,  reply- 
ing for  Sir  Thomas  Day  and  himself  on  the  5th  December, 
explained  that  the  object  of  the  Bill  was  to  secure  the 
privilege  of  printing  for  towns  like  York,  Bristol,  and 
Exeter.  (This  correspondence  is  in  the  British  Museum.) 
The  Bill  was  fortunately  dropped,  and  the  success  of  the 
London  Post-Boy  and  other  papers  encouraged  Bonny  to 
make  a  similar  adventure  here  ;  though  he  must  have  pro- 
ceeded under  painful  difficulties,  for  John  Dunton,  the 
London  bookseller,  states  that  in  1705  he  had  wholly  lost 
his  sight.  The  Bristol  Post-Boy  was  printed  on  both  sides 
of  a  coarse  and  dingy  leaf,  somewhat  less  in  size  than  half  a 
sheet  of  ordinary  letter  paper.     The  contents  of  a  number 


50  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1702. 

would  not  suffice  to  fill  three-quarters  of  a  column  of  a  daily 
journal  of  our  time.  No.  91  contains  no  reference  to  local 
events,  and  only  one  advertisement.  Another  extant  copy 
shows  that  the  restriction  placed  on  Bonny  by  the  Corpora- 
tion had  been  relaxed  or  forgotten,  for  the  publisher 
announces  that  he  buys  old  rope  and  "  paper  stuff,'^  and 
sells  Welsh  Prayer-Books,  Bibles,  paper-hangings,  music 
*'  with  the  monthly  songs,'*  maps,  blank  ale  licenses,  and 
blank  commissions  for  private  men-of-war.  On  another 
occasion  (May  31st,  1712)  he  informs  the  public  that  he  has 
some  "  very  good  Bridgwater  peas  and  large  brown  paper  '' 
for  sale,  and  in  1716  he  frequently  supplied  the  Council 
House  with  charcoal.  The  number  of  May,  1712,  is  the 
latest  known  copy  of  the  Post-Boy,  If  it  long  survived  that 
date,  which  is  improbable,  its  printer  had  to  sustain  the 
competition  of  a  more  enterprising  rival — the  Bristol  Post- 
man^  the  only  known  copy  of  which  is  dated  July  IBth, 
1713,  and  numbered  24.  The  Postman  was  published  by 
Samuel  Farley,  the  earliest  of  a  numerous  and  puzzling 
family  of  printers,  "  at  the  house  in  St.  Nicholas'  Street, 
near  the  church.''  It  marked  a  great  improvement  upon 
Bonny's  tiny  journal,  containing  twelve  small  quarto  pages, 
with  pictorial  initial  letters,  and  two  woodcuts — a  postboy 
and  a  full-rigged  ship — on  the  title-page.  The  price  was 
three-halfpence  in  the  city,  and  twopence  when  delivered 
in  the  country.  The  deliverers,  it  may  be  added,  hawked 
the  books,  quack  medicines,  mustard,  snuff,  etc.,  advertised 
in  the  paper,  thus  turning  an  honest  penny  for  their  em- 
ployer. The  third  local  journal,  the  Bristol  Weekly  Mercury^ 
printed  by  Henry  Greep,  made  its  appearance  on  the  1st 
October,  1715.  The  price  was  three-halfpence  "  in  town," 
and  the  title  declares  that  in  point  of  news  it  far  excels  all 
other  papers  ;  but  as  the  latest  issue  preserved  is  No.  61,  it 
probably  died  in  infancy.  In  April,  1725,  a  new  stamp 
duty  of  one  penny  per  sheet  on  newspapers  came  into  force, 
in  consequence  of  which  Farley  discontinued  the  twelve- 
paged  Postman^  and  produced  in  its  place  a  four-paged 
journal,  entitled  Farley^ s  Bristol  Newspaper^  price  twopence, 
**  printed  at  my  house  near  Newgate,  in  Wine  Street."  The 
title  of  this  paper,  of  which  various  copies  have  survived,  is 
accompanied  by  a  view  of  the  city,  including  old  Bristol 
Bridge.  In  April,  1727,  either  the  Merairy  or  some  other 
unknown  journal  ceased  to  appear,  for  Farley  announced 
that,  "  after  all  ignorant  and  fruitless  attempts  of  pre- 
tenders," his  was  the  only  newspaper  published  in  the  city. 


1702.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTCRY.  51 

The  printer,  as  is  proved  by  a  handbill  in  the  Record  Office, 
had  taken  two  sons  into  partnership  in  or  before  1718,  but 
seems  to  have  managed  the  paper  himself.  The  issue  of 
July  9th,  1737,  is  st^'led  Sam,  Farley's  Brintol  Newspaper. 
In  1743  the  Bristol  Newspaper  had  disappeared,  the  sons  had 
separated,  and  a  curious  arrangement  appears  to  have  been 
entered  into  between  them.  On  the  24:th  March,  1743-4,  for 
example,  was  issued  F.  Farley's  Bristol  Journal j  No.  17  ;  and 
a  week  later  appeared  Farley^s  Bristol  Advertiser^  No.  18. 
The  former  was  printed  by  Felix  Farley  in  Castle  Green ; 
the  latter  by  **  Felix  Farley  &  Co."  This  alternation  of 
titles  continued  until  the  summer  of  1746,  the  last  Advertiser 
being  issued  on  the  23rd  August,  and  F,  Farley's  Journal 
was  alone  published  until  the  close  of  1747.  On  the  9fch 
January,  1748,  the  title  was  changed  through  some  freak  to 
F,  Farley's  Advertiser^  but  in  the  following  week  the  printer 
altered  it  to  Farley's  Bristol  Journal^  which  was  stated  to 
be  published  by  S.  and  F.  Farley,  at  the  Shakespeare^s  Head 
in  Castle  Green,  denoting  a  brief  family  reconciliation.  Soon 
afterwards  the  word  Farley  was  removed  from  the  title,  the 
paper  being  styled  simply  the  Bristol  Journal,  (The  final 
separation  of  the  brothers  will  be  recorded  under  1762.) 
The  numbering  of  the  journal  issued  by  Felix  Farley  is  be- 
wildering. For  about  four  years  it  proceeded  pretty  regu- 
larly, though  the  printer  on  more  than  thirty  occasions 
neglected  to  alter  the  figures.  But  on  the  14th  March, 
1747,  the  issue,  which  was  really  the  l71st,  was  called 
"  No.  1 "  ;  whilst  that  of  the  18th  April  following,  actually 
the  176th,  bears  the  astounding  number  "1660" — upon 
which  all  the  subsequent  numeration  was  based,  with  the 
effect  of  increasing  the  apparent  age  of  the  paper  by  nearly 
twenty-seven  years.  Though  no  explanation  of  this  leap  is 
offered  by  the  printer,  some  light  as  to  the  motive  is  found 
in  his  previous  asseverations  that  the  figures  appended  to 
the  title  were  no  index,  as  some  readers  had  fancied,  to  the 
number  of  copies  issued  weekly.  *^  No.  1  "  seems  to  have 
been  tried  as  a  reductio  ad  absurdum.  Probably  from  its 
failure,  for  the  editor  indignantly  asserted  a  month  later 
that  he  sold  more  than  his  two  local  rivals  put  together,  a 
jump  was  made  in  the  opposite  direction.  Farley's  com- 
petitors, just  referred  to,  may  be  dismissed  briefly.  The 
first  was  the  Oracle,  edited  by  "  Andrew  Hooke,  Esq.,"  a 
descendant  of  an  eminent  Bristol  family  in  the  previous 
century,  but  reduced  in  circumstances.  (He  was  actually 
a  prisoner  for  debt  in  Newgate  when  he  started  the  paper.) 


52  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1702. 

The  first  number  was  issued  on  the  3rd  February,  1742,  and 
the  last  about  September,  1749.  The  title  underwent  con- 
stant changes,  and  the  numbering  seems  to  have  been  left 
to  chance,  for  it  never  reached  70  in  an  existence  of  nearly 
eight  years.  (Since  the  above  was  written,  some  documents 
have  been  found  in  the  Record  Office  from  which  it  appears 
that  Hooke  was  prosecuted  by  the  Attorney-General  for 
seeking  to  evade  the  advertisement  duty  on  weekly  news- 
papers by  systematically  altering  the  title  of  his  journal. 
The  result  does  not  appear.  At  this  period  the  advertise- 
ments in  any  of  the  local  papers  rarely  exceeded  ten,  and 
sometimes  fell  to  half  that  number.  The  earnings  of  the 
publishers  were  so  meagre  that  they  eked  out  a  living  in 
odd  ways.  Thus  Felix  Farley  announced  that  he  was  the 
sole  retailer  of  **  the  Bristol  Tooth- water,  made  out  of  the 
noblest  ingredients  in  the  whole  materia  medica."  He  also 
vended  quack  medicines,  Durham  mustard,  and  writing 
ink,  lent  Acts  of  Parliament  to  read  at  the  rate  of  3d.  for 
two  hours,  and  gave  ready  money  for  old  books  and  paint- 
ings.) The  other  journal  was  a  revived  Bristol  Mercury. 
The  only  copy  known  to  exist  is  dated  October  20th,  1748 ; 
and  was  printed  by  Edward  Ward  in  Castle  Street.  Being 
numbered  "  24  "  one  might  assume  that  the  paper  had  first 
appeared  in  the  spring  of  1748,  but  the  Mercury  is  men- 
tioned by  name  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  October  10th,  1747. 
It  expired  before  the  Oracle ;  and  Ward,  its  printer,  produced 
the  first  number  of  the  Bristol  Intelligencer  on  the  23rd 
September,  1749,  stating  that  he  had  come  into  the  field  in 
consequence  of  there  bemg  only  one  journal  "  exhibited  "  in 
the  city — the  Journal  of  S.  and  F.  Farley.  Ward  removed  to 
Broad  Street  in  1760,  and  subsequently  published  his  paper 
**at  the  King's  Arms  [the  Stamp  Office]  in  the  Tolzey." 
The  latest  extant  copy  of  the  Intelligencer  is  dated  August 
12th,  1768. 

The  practice  of  tobacco  smoking  was  exceedingly  popular 
amongst  the  upper  classes  of  society  at  this  period.  The 
tobacco  and  pipes  purchased  for  Mr.  Justice  Powell  in  1702 
have  been  already  mentioned.  The  recorder  was  allowed 
bs.  for  pipes  and  tobacco  at  the  gaol  delivery  of  the  same 
year.  The  members  of  the  Corporation  were  also  ardent 
smokers,  but  therewithal  economical,  sending  their  foul 
pipes  back  to  the  kiln  to  be  purified  by  burning.  The  vice- 
chamberlain  was  paid  the  following  little  account  at  the 
audit  in  1704 : — "  December  22,  1703,  paid  for  pipes,  bs. 
May   16,   a   gross    of   pipes    and    for    burning    pipes,   2«. 


1702.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  53 

July  2,  pipes  afc  Muster,  and  burning  of  pipes,  1^. 
August  8,  more  pipes,  and  for  burning  fowle  pipes,  Is. 
August  22,  a  gross  of  pipes  and  burning  fowle  ones, 
2.'<."  Another  half-gross  or  pipes  was  bought  in  September 
at  the  celebration  of  the  victory  of  Blenheim.  The  expendi- 
ture under  this  head  increased  in  subsequent  years,  no  less 
than  nine  gross  of  new  pipes  being  bought  in  1716,  while 
several  gross  of  old  ones  were  reburned.  At  the  yearly 
celebration  of  the  King's  coronation  in  1723,  the  civic  bodj'', 
after  ordering  in  216  pipes,  consumed  2^  lb.  of  tobacco, 
with  **  6  jugs  of  ale,  10  quarts  each,"  and  upwards  of  60 
gallons  of  wine.  In  the  petty  payments  for  1738  there  are 
small  payments  for  tobacco  on  every  day  on  which  the 
Council  assembled. 

An  outbreak  of  fire  in  a  city  mainly  constructed  of  wocxl 
and  wholly  uninsured  was  naturall^^  regarded  with  terror ; 
but  to  modern  eyes  the  measures  taken  in  Bristol  to  meet 
an  emergency  ssem  ludicrously  inefficient.  Some  disaster 
having  happened  during  the  autumn  of  1702,  the  Common 
Council  revived  an  old  order  in  November,  requiring  every 
alderman  and  councillor  to  keep  six  leather  buckets  in  his 
house  for  the  use  of  his  neighbours  in  the  event  of  a  fire. 
This  was  an  ancient  duty  of  each  corporator,  but  it  had 
been  evaded  or  overlooked.  The  churchwardens  were  at 
the  same  time  requested  to  provide  a  "  sufficient "  number 
oF  buckets  and  ladders,  according  to  the  extent  of  their 
parishes.  St.  Nicholas'  vestry  added  an  "  engine  "  to  this 
provision.  The  Corporation  also  had  two  "  engines,"  similar 
to  the  garden  utensil  of  later  times,  consisting  of  a  vessel  on 
low  wheels,  containing  about  twenty  gallons  of  water,  with 
a  force-pump  and  nozzle.  Fortunately  for  the  citizens  no 
serious  fire  occurred  for  several  years.  But  on  the  26th 
December,  1716,  a  calamitous  outbreak  took  place  in  Wine 
Street,  near  the  High  Cross,  when  the  deficiency  of  the 
apparatus  was  made  manifest  by  the  total  destruction  of 
three  houses ;  and  the  Council,  in  a  panic,  appointed  a 
committee  to  consider  what  should  be  done.  In  July,  1717, 
this  body  recommended  that  the  two  engines  should  be 
made  serviceable,  or  replaced  by  better  ones,  and  that  a 
"fireman"  should  be  appointed  for  each  of  the  twelve 
wards,  to  be  provided  with  two  buckets,  a  pickhook,  and  an 
axe,  and  to  be  paid  Is.  an  hour  during  a  fire.  It  was  also 
suggested  that  four  dozen  buckets  should  be  kept  at  the 
Council  House,  and  that  hose  should  be  provided  to  feed  the 
engines,  and  to  convey  the  water  from  them  to  the  burning 


54  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1702-3. 

premises.  The  city  accounts  shortly  afterwards  show  that 
a  new  brass  engine  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  £8  15«.,  which 
affords  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  efficiency  of  the  apparatus. 
Six  dozen  buckets,  costing  £10  16«.,  were  doubtless  for 
supplying  the  instrument  with  water.  In  1720,  however, 
another  engine  was  made  out  of  the  materials  of  two  old 
ones  at  an  expense  of  £17  11^. ;  and  a  few  weeks  later,  after 
the  destruction  of  a  large  sugar  house  and  several  adjoining 
dwellings,  about  £6  were  spent  in  **  mending  and  painting 
the  city  buckets."  The  Wine  Street  disaster  occasioned  the 
first  local  movement  for  securing  protection  from  losses  by 
fire.  In  1718  a  number  of  leading  merchants  guaranteed  a 
fund  of  £40,CXX),  and  thereupon  founded  the  Crown  In- 
surance Fire  Office.  The  directors'  meetings  were  held  for 
some  years  in  the  court-room  of  St.  Peter's  Hospital,  £4  per 
annum  being  paid  for  the  accommodation.  The  charge  for 
the  insurance  of  house  property  was  sixpence  per  pound  on 
the  rental. 

A  violent  but  now  obscure  controversy  raged  about  this 
time  between  the  Corporation  and  John  Sansom,  jun.,  who 
was  the  son-in-law  of  the  town  clerk,  John  Romsey,  and 
had  been  appointed  Collector  of  Customs  in  1700.  In  June, 
1703,  the  Council  complained  to  the  Government  respecting 
the  Collector's  conduct,  particularly  for  *^  notorious  violations 
of  her  Majesty's  peace  upon  private  persons,  indecently  con- 
temning the  authority  of  the  magistrates  by  words  and 
writing,  and  exciting  a  challenge  to  a  principal  officer  of  the 
city  for  what  he  did  by  order  of  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions,  and  other  unwarrantable  actions."  The  Sessions 
grand  jury  had  already  made  a  presentment  accusing  the 
Collector  of  "  endeavouring  the  ruin  "  of  the  trade  of  the 
city  by  imposing  illegal  oaths  on  persons  sending  goods 
coastwise.  The  Government  appears  to  have  taken  no 
action.  In  January,  1706,  an  instrument  was  read  to  the 
Council,  signed  by  the  town  clerk,  intimating  that  he  was 
imprisoned  in  London  "  at  the  suit  and  eager  prosecution  " 
of  nis  only  daughter  and  her  husband  Sansom,  and  consti- 
tuting Nathaniel  Wade,  an  ex-town  clerk,  his  deputy.  In 
1707  Sansom  came  to  grief,  the  Government  discovering 
that  he  was  in  arrears  in  the  sum  of  £30,361,  the  larger  part 
of  which,  however,  was  recovered.  Romsey  subsequently 
resumed  his  office,  which  he  held  until  his  death  in  1721. 

A  resolution  discussed  by  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor  at 
a  meeting  on  the  3rd  August,  1703,  shows  that  Cary's 
scheme    of    united    parochial    management    was    passing 


1703.]  IN  THK  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  55 

through  another  crisis  in  its  career.  The  question  put 
before  the  board  was  whether  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the 
city  that  the  incorporation  should  be  continued,  or  the  old 
system  revived.  After  a  debate,  the  former  alternative 
was  unanimously  approved.  The  institution  had  doubtless 
encountered  much  opposition  in  certain  circles.  The  mere 
fact  that  it  was  a  novelty  was  sufficient  for  its  condemna- 
tion in  many  prejudiced  eyes;  the  training  of  young  paupers 
so  as  to  6t  them  for  future  self-support  was  offensive  to 
artisans  whose  privileges  were  attacked  ;  and  the  guardian^ 
themselves,  so  far  from  conscientiously  performing  the  duties 
of  their  office,  frequently  thwarted  Gary's  design  in  a  spirit 
of  short-sighted  parsimony.  A  casual  minute  dated  Sept. 
27th,  1701,  shows  that  a  number  of  the  boy  paupers  were  no 
longer  being  trained  as  weavers,  but  were  engaged  in 
"  heading  pins,"  a  juvenile  occupation  that  could  be  of  no 
service  to  them  in  later  life.  The  court  ordered  the  lads  to 
be  sent  back  to  the  looms,  but  changed  its  mind  a  fortnight 
later,  and  quashed  its  resolution.  A  few  months  afterwards 
it  was  determined  to  purchase  a  farm  in  order  to  teach  the 
boys  to  labour  in  the  fields,  whereupon  Hungroad  manor- 
house  and  112  acres  of  land  near  Shirehampton  were  bought 
for  £1,600,  all  of  which  was  borrowed,  chiefly  from  the 
Corporation.  Before  the  guardians  got  possession  of  the 
farm,  however,  they  had  repented  of  their  action,  and  no 
steps  were  ever  taken  to  remove  the  young  paupers  into  the 
country.  Further  subscriptions  in  support  of  the  hospital, 
amounting  to  about  £1,200,  were  received  about  the  same 
time,  but  the  money  was  applied  to  meet  current  expenses, 
and  the  gifts  were  of  no  lasting  benefit.  Gary's  idea,  again, 
was  to  maintain  the  aged  poor  in  a  central  institution  where 
they  could  be  economically  overlooked.  But  the  guardians, 
having  accepted  a  number  of  small  almshouses  from  the 
parish  officials,  filled  them  with  paupers  left  to  their  own 
devices,  and  the  old  evils  of  mendicity  and  dissipation 
naturally  reappeared.  An  amusing  illustration  of  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  age  remains  to  be  given.  On  the  21st  Sep- 
tember, 1703,  when  the  Queen  was  again  residing  at  Bath, 
the  board  resolved  "  that  the  several  poor  persons  under  the 
care  of  this  corporation  now  afflicted  with  the  King's  Evil, 
not  exceeding  the  number  of  twelve,  be  sent  to  Bath  at  the 
charge  of  this  corporation,  to  have  a  touch  from  the  Queen, 
for  a  cure."     (Her  Majesty  was  exceedingly  fond   of  dis- 

e^nsing  her  healing  influence.      During  the   year  ending 
ay,  1707,  she  "  touched  "  upwards  of  3,600  people  at  about 


56  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1703. 

seventy  religious  services  held  for  the  purpose.)  Unfor- 
tunately the  local  records  are  silent  as  to  the  results  of  the 
anticipated  miracle.  It  will  be  shown  later  on  that  a  robust 
faith  in  the  magical  powers  of  a  "  king  by  divine  right  '* 
survived  long  after  this  date.  The  poor  sought  for  super- 
human influence  at  the  other  end  of  the  social  scale — 
amongst  robbers  and  murderers.  Mr.  Johnson,  an  ex- 
governor  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  in  some  historical 
notes  on  that  body  published  in  1826,  observed  that  old 
Superstitions  were  still  far  from  extinct.  "I  believe,"  he 
said,  *'that  few  executions  take  place  without  persons  touch-, 
ing  the  dying  malefactor,  in  order,  as  they  hope,  to  obtain  a 
cure  for  the  King's  Evil." 

Queen  Anne's  second  visit  to  Bath,  just  referred  to, 
aflforded  the  Common  Council  a  fresh  opportunity  for  dis- 
playing its  loyalty.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  were  sent  off 
with  a  congratulatory  address,  and  were  directed  '*  to  wait 
upon  the  Prince  (of  Denmark)  with  a  compliment  from  the 
city  " — which  probably  took  the  shape  of  "  Bristol  milk." 
The  party  was  graciously  received,  and  the  mayor  (William 
Lewis)  received  the  honour  of  knighthood. 

Many  of  the  ancient  ordinances  of  the  Corporation  having 
become  obsolete  through  various  causes,  the  Corporation 
appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the  "  Red  Book  of  Orders  " 
in  which  they  were  contained,  or  rather  to  produce  a  new 
code  embodying  such  orders  as  ought  to  continue  in  force. 
The  committee  completed  its  task  in  September ;  and  the 
revised  code  was  ratified  and  confirmed  by  the  Chamber. 
Several  of  the  regulations  have  been  already  noticed  in 
referring  to  restraints  on  trade.  Amongst  the  others  it  is 
significant  to  find  a  prohibition  of  kidnapping.  Complaint 
having  been  made,  says  the  book,  that  certain  persons  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  stealing  maids,  boys,  or  others,  and  of 
transporting  them  beyond  the  seas,  and  there  selling  them 
without  the  knowledge  of  their  parents  or  others,  it  was 
ordered  that  no  such  young  people  should  be  removed  unless 
their  indentures  of  service  were  enrolled  in  the  Tolzey 
Book.  Masters  of  ships  transporting  such  people  contrary 
to  this  order  were  to  forfeit  £20.  Another  order  deals  with 
Sunday  idlers.  The  deputies  of  each  ward  were  ordered 
to  perambulate  it  on  the  Lord's  Day,  to  see  that  the  con- 
stables cleared  and  quieted  the  streets,  to  close  the  conduits, 
and  to  prevent  drinking  in  public-houses.  The  city  gates 
were  closed  on  Sunday  mornings,  apparently  to  prevent 
country  excursions.     In  1703  the  Society  of  Friends,  as  had 


1703.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  57 

been  their  custom  for  thirty  years,  paid  20^.  to  the  porter  of 
Newgate  *'  for  his  pains  in  opening  the  gate,"  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  attend  their  chapel. 

During  the  autumn  the  board  of  guardians  forwarded  a 
memorial  to  the  Corporation,  expressing  their  opinion  that 
the  exorbitant  number  of  ale-houses  in  the  city  was  one 
great  cause  of  the  increase  of  pauperism,  and  suggesting  a 
diminution  of  licenses.  In  October  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
resolved  that  the  number  of  these  houses  should  be  fixed  at 
220,  the  proportion  of  licenses  to  population  being  thus 
about  one  to  twenty- two  families.  The  guardians  addressed 
another  complaint  to  the  authorities  on  the  same  subject  in 
1707,  but  their  representations  were  disregarded,  and  in  1712 
the  magistrates  increased  the  number  of  licenses  to  253. 

The  **  great  storm  "  of  November,  1703,  has  been  so  fully 
dealt  with  by  Mr.  Sever  and  others  that  it  seems  unnecessary 
to  narrate  its  local  ravages.  A  few  facts  not  hitherto 
published  have  been  found  in  James  Stewart's  MS.  Annals 
in  the  Bodleian  Library.  "  My  father,"  he  writes,  "  was  at 
that  time  usher  to  the  Boys  of  the  Gaunts'  [Queen  Eliza- 
beth's] Hospital,  and  was  called  out  of  his  bed  to  attend  the 
children  to  the  Chapter  House  in  the  Cloisters,  where  they 
remained  and  sung  psalms  all  the  night.''  A  part  of  the  clois- 
ters, he  adds,  was  blown  down  during  this  strange  nocturnal 
concert,  and  the  great  [north  transept]  window  of  the 
Cathedral  was  demolished,  no  doubt  to  the  increased  terror 
of  the  quavering  little  vocalists.  Owing  to  the  force  of  the 
wind,  the  tide  was  driven  up  the  Avon  to  an  unpreceden- 
ted height,  and  boats  are  said  to  have  been  rowed  in 
Thomas  and  Temple  Streets.  The  damage  sustained  by  the 
flooding  of  cellars  was  estimated — perhaps  somewhat  wildly 
— at  £100,000.  The  vestry  minutes  of  St.  Stephen's  parish 
record  that  the  floor  of  the  church  was  six  feet  under  water, 
and  that  through  the  fall  of  three  of  the  four  pinnacles, 
with  the  battlements  and  the  clock,  the  edifice  was  seriously 
damaged.  (Mr.  Colston  forwarded  £60  to  the  fund  for  its 
reparation.)  One  chronicler  asserts  that  Sir  John  Duddle- 
ston,  Bart.,  respecting  whom  a  silly  legend  is  to  be  found  in 
some  histories  of  Bristol,  lost  £20,000  in  this  storm,  and  was 
thereby  ruined.  But  more  than  a  year  later  Sir  John  made 
a  donation  to  the  city  poor  **in  remembrance  of  his  deceased 
daughter " ;  and  in  1716  he  was  elected  master  of  the 
Merchant  Venturers'  Society,  in  which  office  he  died  in  1716. 

The  first  medical  dissertation  on  the  virtues  of  the  Hot 
Well  was  published  in  1703  under  the  whimsical  title:— 


58  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1703-4. 

"  Johannis  Subtermontani  Thermalogia  Bristol iensis,  or 
Underhiirs  short  Account  of  the  Bristol  Hot  Well  water. 
Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bonny,  at  his  house  in  Small 
Street."  The  author  was  a  medical  practitioner  residing  in 
College  Green,  where  most  of  the  visitors  to  the  spring  then 
lodged,  owing  to  the  scantiness  of  the  accommodation  at 
Clifton.  Underbill  cites  a  great  number  of  cases  in  which 
sufferers  from  various  maladies  had  been  restored  to  health 
by  drinking  the  water.  Amongst  the  persons  named  is 
William  Beekford,  Esq.,  His  Majesty's  Slopster,  who  was 
cured  of  diabetes  in  thirteen  weeks.  The  author  adds  that 
many  persons  of  the  first  quality  had  ordered  certificates 
bearing  their  names  and  the  nature  of  their  former  diseases 
to  be  exposed  in  print,  and  to  be  exhibited  at  the  Well,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public,  the  list  including  Viscount  Staf- 
ford, the  Earl  of  Meath,  Viscount  Devereux,  Lady  Spencer, 
and  Lady  Porter.  For  himself,  the  writer  took  the  Hot 
Well  water  **  to  be  the  most  certain  and  cheapest  cure  (yet 
known)  of  most  diseases."  Underbill  dedicated  his  pamphlet 
to  the  mayor  and  Corporation.  The  style  of  the  work  is 
fairly  illustrated  by  a  single  sentence  : — "  Providence  hav- 
ing cast  me  under  your  care  and  umbrage,  I  wholly  submit 
it  to  your  censure  and  promulgation."  The  well  was  held, 
at  this  time,  under  a  lease  granted  in  1696,  by  Sir  Thomas 
Day,  Robert  Yate,  Thomas  Edwards,  Thomas  Callowhill, 
and  other  wealthy  citizens,  who  had  spent  considerable 
sums  in  protecting  it  against  the  tide,  and  erecting  the 
Hot  Well  House,  to  which  the  water  was  raised  by  pumps. 
The  neighbouring  rocks  almost  overhung  the  pump-room, 
and  the  narrow  footway  along  the  bank  of  the  Avon  passed 
through  the  house. 

For  the  last  fifteen  years  of  the  previous  century,  the 
Corporation,  owing  to  the  prodigalities  of  a  previous  age, 
was  in  great  pecuniary  embarrassment.  A  debt  of  about 
£16,000  having  accumulated,  and  the  yearly  income  being 
insufficient  to  meet  the  charges  upon  it,  the  Council,  be- 
tween 1690  and  1700,  was  compelled  to  effect  retrench- 
ments. The  Members  of  Parliament  for  the  city  had 
hitherto  been  paid  6^.  8d,  per  day  each  whilst  attending  to 
their  duties.  This  allowance  was  ordered  to  be  withdrawn. 
The  judges  were  politely  informed  that  the  hospitality 
usually  offered  them  would  be  discontinued,  "  not  from  want 
of  respect,  but  pure  necessity."  By  another  resolution, 
entertainments  and  presents  of  wine  to  distinguished  visitors 
were   suspended  "  until  the  city  debts  were  paid."     The 


1704.]  IN  THE  EIOHTKENTH  CENTURY.  59 

mayor's  allowance  was  rednoed  by  fifty  guineas,  the  salaries 
of  various  officers  were  cut  down,  giits  to  some  of  the 
parishes  were  retrenched  ;  in  fact,  economy  was  for  a  season 
in  the  ascendant.  In  1700  the  Council  even  resolved  to 
dispose  of  the  silver  trumpets  used  on  state  occasions,  to- 
gether with  the  trumpeters'  laced  coats,  and  these  articles 
were  actually  sold ;  but  as  the  payments  to  trumpeters  soon 
reappear  in  the  accounts  it  is  probable  that  the  civic  digni- 
taries could  not  reconcile  themselves  to  the  loss  of  their  son- 
orous heralds.  By  that  time,  indeed,  the  fines  for  renewing 
leases  of  the  new  property  in  the  Castle  precincts  and  King 
Street  were  becoming  fruitful,  and  the  distress  of  the  civic 
treasury  was  consequently  relieved.  Signs  soon  became 
manifest  of  a  turn  in  the  financial  tide.  In  1700  the  Coun- 
cil ordered  that  the  judges  should  be  again  entertained  at 
Sir  Thomas  Day's  house  at  the  charge  of  the  city.  In  1701 
the  Corporation  paid  £10  for  three  days'  keep  of  Mr.  Justice 
Powell's  horses,  of  which  he  had  no  less  than  twenty-two, 
and  also  furnished  him  with  six  gallons  of  sherry,  costing 
£2  2j?.  ;  six  gallons  of  claret,  £2 ;  eighteen  quarts  of  sherry, 
21s. ;  and  twelve  quarts  of  claret,  20^.  The  return  to 
ancient  custom  became  definitive  in  1702,  a  house  of  a 
leading  corporator  being  annually  selected  for  the  reception 
of  the  judges.  How  munificently  the  Queen  was  entertained 
has  just  been  shown.  Though  the  city  debt  was  still  heavy, 
the  improving  prospects  of  the  Chamber  caused  it  speedily 
to  ignore  its  former  pledges  of  economy.  The  Council 
House  in  Com  Street,  with  the  adjoining  Mayor's  Tolzey, 
had  been  constructed  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  meanly 
repaired  after  a  fire  which  occurred  soon  after  the  Eestora- 
t'on.  The  building  was  no  longer  deemed  worthy  of  the 
wealth  and  dignity  of  the  city,  and  in  January,  1704,  the 
Common  Council  resolved  to  pull  it  down,  and  to  erect  a 
Council  House  that  would  be  "  honourable  and  useful."  St. 
E wen's  Church,  however,  was  not  interfered  with,  and  the 
new  edifice,  though  presenting  a  decorous  semi-classical 
front,  offered  very  meagre  accommodation.  Amongst  the 
items  of  expense  incurred  during  the  reconstruction  were : — 
**  Wainscotting  the  great  room  £60 ;  Chimney-piece  £7  ; 
drawing,  painting,  and  gilding  the  four  coats  of  arms  upon 
the  new  cloth  £14  ;  gilding  and  painting  the  carved  coat  of 
arms  and  two  figures  of  Prudence  and  Justice,  and  the 
frame  for  the  Sword  £4  lOs.  ;  Frontispiece  for  Council 
House  £12."  Bricks  were  then  I6s,  per  thousand.  The 
wages  of  masons  and  carpenters  were  l.s.  8d,  and  of  labour- 


CO  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1704. 

ers  1^.  2d,  by  day.  The  building  was  probably  the  first  in 
the  central  streets  which  was  furnished  with  sashed  win- 
dows. The  timbervvork  and  stone  pillars  of  the  Tolzey, 
being  no  longer  required,  were  presented  to  the  parishioners 
of  St.  Nicholas,  **  to  the  intent  they  be  used  m  making 
a  walk  in  the  nature  of  a  Tolzey,  near  the  Custom  House," 
which  then  stood  on  the  Welsh  Back,  and  also  had  a  covered 
*'  walk  "  attached  to  it.  The  Corporation  granted  £25  and 
the  vestry  of  St.  Nicholas  £20  towards  erecting  the  new 
penthouse,  which  was  completed  in  1707.  Owing  to  the 
scanty  accommodation  which  offices  and  shops  then  offered 
for  business  consultations,  the  ^*walk*'  was  much  frequented 
before  the  opening  of  the  Exchange.  It  was  removed  in 
1775,  but  the  parish  vestry,  loath  to  part  with  it,  erected  it 
afresh  in  the  churchyard  on  the  Back. 

An  association  styling  itself  the  Society  for  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Manners  was  established  in  London  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century,  and  found  active  and  influential 
supporters  in  Bristol.  Apparently  at  their  instance,  the 
Common  Council,  in  July,  1704,  requested  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  that  "  by  regard  to  the  ill  consequences  by  the 
introduction  of  lewdness  and  debauchery  by  the  acting  of 
stage  plays,"  players  should  not  be  allowed  to  act  within 
the  city.  The  magistrates  must  have  held  a  deaf  ear  to  this 
demand,  for  at  the  quarter  sessions  in  the  following  Decem- 
ber the  grand  jury  delivered  a  lengthy  presentment,  in 
which,  after  acknowledging  the  exertions  of  the  justices  in 
suppressing  music  rooms,  limiting  the  number  of  ale-houses, 
and  '•''  punishing  idle  walking  on  the  Lord's  Day,'*  they  ex- 
press their  dread  of  an  outbreak  of  immorality  and  profane- 
ness  from  the  increase  of  unlicensed  ale-houses,  where  "  the 
Lord's  Day  is  much  profaned  by  tippling,  and  also  by  the 
great  concourse  of  people  in  public  places  under  pretence  of 
hearing  news  on  that  day.  But  that  which  puts  us  more 
especially  under  these  sad  apprehensions  is  the  late  per- 
mission given  to  the  public  stage  within  the  liberties  of  this 
city."  The  jury  went  on  to  predict  that  if  play-acting  were 
permitted,  it  would  "  corrupt  and  debauch  our  youth,  and 
utterly  ruin  many  apprentices  and  servants,  already  so  un- 
ruly and  licentious  that  they  are  with  great  difficulty  kept 
under  any  reasonable  order  or  government  by  their  masters.'' 
The  magistrates,  nevertheless,  refused  to  take  alarm.  In  the 
summer  of  1705  the  players  again  made  their  appearance, 
led  by  a  popular  actor  named  Power,  and  the  pious  horror 
of  their  opponents  has  preserved  the  information  that  they 


1704.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  .61 

performed  **Love  for  Love  "on  the  23rd  July,  and  "The  Pro- 
voked Husband  "  on  the  13th  August.  Their  theatre  was 
probably  situated  in  Stoke's  Croft,  a  few  yards  beyond  the 
city  boundaries.  They  met,  moreover,  with  so  large  a  mea- 
sure of  support  that  they  not  only  returned  in  the  summer 
of  1706,  but  audaciously  entered  the  city,  and  built  them- 
selves a  playhouse  on  St.  Augustine's  Back.  Their  enemies 
were,  of  course,  intensely  indignant.  At  the  August  quarter 
sessions  the  grand  jury  presented  the  offences  of  Power  and 
his  company ;  five  days  later  the  grand  jury  at  the  annual 
assizes  appealed  to  the  magistrates  to  "  crush  the  newly- 
erected  playhouse,  that  school  of  debauchery  and  nursery  of 
profaneness,"  which  the  Bishop  of  Bristol  had  been  "  season- 
ably" denouncing  from  the  pulpit;  and  the  Common  Council, 
on  the  same  day,  appointed  a  committee  to  take  steps  for 
the  punishment  of  the  delinquents  and  the  suppression  of 
the  house.  The  Rev.  Arthur  Bedford,  Vicar  of  Temple,  also 
entered  the  field  with  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  The  Evil  and 
Danger  of  Stage  Plays,"  one  of  the  rarest  of  the  productions 
of  Bonny,  the  only  Bristol  printer  in  1706.  "  The  Enemy," 
says  the  author,  "  lay  sometime  without  our  Grates,  and  is 
now  come  into  the  City  in  Defiance  of  the  Magistrates." 
The  hands  of  the  unwilling  justices  were  evidently  forced 
by  the  rash  adventure  of  Power,  and  the  playhouse  was 
closed.  Even  the  playing-booths  which  had  been  winked 
at  during  the  fair  were  suppressed  by  the  sheriffs,  the 
Council  granting  them  £12  in  compensation  for  lost  fees. 
Encouraged  by  public  support,  however,  the  poor  players 
still  ventured  to  return  occasionally  to  the  house  in  Stokers 
Croft  or  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Hot  Well.  In  December, 
1709,  according  to  the  minutes  of  the  Council,  "  players  and 
other  roving  persons  having  been  driven  out  of  the  city, 
and  found  shelter  in  Gloucestershire  near  it,  and  the  justices 
of  Gloucestershire  being  willing  to  assist  that  they  may  have 
no  reception  within  five  miles  of  the  city,"  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  co-operate  with  the  county  authorities.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  this  arrangement  was  ever  carried  out. 
At  all  events,  the  comedians  returned  from  time  to  time, 
and  in  1717  their  manager  accepted  as  a  recruit  a  young 
Irishman  named  Macklin,  who  remained  with  the  Bristol 
companies  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  afterwards  attained 
great  fame  both  as  an  actor  and  an  author.  (It  appears  from 
a  note  in  Macklin's  memoirs  that  the  only  playbills  at  this 
period  consisted  of  two  or  three  written  notices,  posted  up  at 
public  resorts.   Mr.  Seyer's  MSS.  state  that  he  was  informed 


62  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1704. 

by  an  aged  citizen  that  the  plays  were  announced  in  the 
leading  streets  by  beat  of  drum,  one  of  the  principal  actors 
accompanying  the  drummer.)  Aroused  by  the  continuance 
of  what  he  deemed  an  evil,  the  Rev.  A.  Bedford  produced  a 
more  elaborate  work  in  1719,  "Against  the  horrid  Blas- 
phemies and  Impieties  which  are  sdll  used  in  English  Play- 
houses." The  book  proved  the  extraordinary  industry  of 
the  author,  for  no  less  than  7,000  passages  were  quoted  from 
acting  dramas,  Mr.  Bedford  contending  that  they  offended 
1,4(X)  texts  of  the  Bible.  Amongst  the  plays  especially 
condemned  as  blasphemous  were  "Macbeth"  and  "The 
Tempest'^ ;  the  same  sin  was  even  discovered  in  Addison's 
"  Cato."  The  reverend  gentleman's  efforts  can  have  had 
little  effect  on  public  opinion,  which  was  setting  in  the 
opposite  direction.  From  Stewart's  manuscript  annals  of 
the  city,  it  appears  that  some  players  from  Drury  Lane  had 
been  permitted  to  reopen  the  theatre  at  St.  Augustine's  in 
the  autumn  of  1726,  "  Cato"  being  one  of  the  plays  per- 
formed. July  16th,  1728,  the  Gloucester  Jounml  announced 
that  a  band  of  comedians,  after  having  played  the  "  Beggars' 
Opera  "  at  Bath,  under  the  supervision  of  its  author,  Mr. 
Gay,  with  great  success,  were  then  "  playing  of  it  at  their 
great  booth  in  Bridewell  Lane,  Bristol,  and  have  been  sent 
for  by  the  quality  to  play  it  at  their  houses,  and  to  the  Long 
Room  near  the  Hot  Well  several  times."  FarUy^s  News- 
paper stated  that  one  of  the  representations  at  the  Hot  Well 
was  "  attended  by  200  persons  of  the  first  rank,"  that  the 
dresses  of  the  actors  had  been  presented  by  the  nobility  at 
Bath,  and  that  Mr.  Gay  would  be  present  at  the  next  repre- 
sentation. It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  play  was  per- 
formed here  no  less  than  fifty  times.  (From  the  Tyson 
MSS.  in  Alderman  Fox's  collection  it  would  seem  that 
playbills  were  introduced  at  this  date.)  From  another 
paragraph  it  appears  that  the  company  obtained  leave  from 
the  mayor  for  the  erection  of  their  booth.  Moreover,  the 
playhouse  in  St.  Augustine's  was  open  at  the  same  time 
{Farley^ 8  Newspaper^  July  30th,  1728).  In  September  the 
grand  jury  at  the  assizes,  much  incensed,  presented  "  the  two 
playhouses  frequently  acted  in  here  as  public  nuisances  and 
nurseries  of  idleness  and  vice  "  ;  and  the  new  mayor,  holding 
different  views  from  his  predecessor,  issued  warrants  against 
the  St.  Augustine's  company,  and  ordered  the  actors  to  be 
arrested  in  the  midst  of  a  pertormance.  The  natural  result 
was  a  disturbance,  during  which  the  players  seem  to  have 
escaped  ;  whereupon  the  Corporation  ordered  proceedings  to 


1704.]       '  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  63 

be  taken  against  Joseph  Earle,  Esq.,  a  member  of  an  in- 
Haential  Bristol  family,  for  abusing  and  assaulting  the 
ofl&cers.  Earle  died,  however,  before  judgment  was  obtained, 
an^the  Council  made  nothing  out  of  the  affair,  except  a 
lawyer's  bill  for  about  £36,  which  was  paid  in  1731,  when 
another  prosecution  was  ordered  against  "  Thomas  Lewis 
and  company,  common  players  at  St.  Augustine's  Back." 
Before  that  date,  however,  some  of  the  players,  harassed 
by  constant  persecution,  had  effectually  baffled  their  oppo- 
nents, and  gratified  the  lovers  of  the  drama  both  in  Bristol 
and  at  the  Hot  Well,  by  building  another  theatre  beyond 
the  city  boundaries.  About  the  close  of  1728  one  George 
Mjurtin,  who  held  from  the  Society  of  Merchants  a  public- 
house  called  the  Horse  and  Groom,  and  some  adjoining  land 
at  Jacob's  Wells,  under  a  lease  granted  in  June,  1723,  trans- 
ferred the  vacant  ground  to  John  Hippisley,  a  native  of 
Wookey,  Somerset,  who  was  a  popular  actor  in  London,  and 
had  played  for  several  seasons  in  Bristol,  his  success  as  a 
comedian  being  largely  due  to  a  distorted  face  caused  by  a 
burn  received  in  early  life,  when  he  fulfilled  the  humble 
functions  of  a  stage  candle-snuffer.  Hippisley  was  supported 
by  several  prominent  Bristolians — amongst  whom  were 
Abraham  Isaac  Elton,  John  Brickdale,  John  Peach,  William 
Vick,  the  Clifton  Bridge  projector,  and  Stephen  Nash — who 
lent  him  £300 ;  and  he  forthwith  erected  a  theatre,  which 
was  opened  on  the  23rd  June,  1729,  with  the  comedy  of 
"  Love  for  Love  '*  {London  Weekly  Journal^  June  28th). 
The  new  place  of  amusement,  "  being  convenient,"  as  the 
reporter  said,  "for  coaches,  as  well  as  for  the  Ropewalks 
leading  to  the  Hot  Well,"  was  largely  patronised,  and  in 
June,  1736,  Hippisley  prudently  obtained  from  Martin  a 
transfer  of  his  entire  lease,  and  subsequently  occupied  the 
Horse  and  Groom  as  a  dwelling.  Finally,  in  June,  1746, 
Thomas  Longman,  John  Blackwell  and  Joseph  Brown,  on 
behalf  of  the  Merchants  Company,  granted  to  Hippisley  the 
Horse  and  Groom,  and  also  "  the  piece  of  ground  called  the 
Margaretts,"  on  which  the  theatre  was  erected,  during  the 
lifetime  of  his  two  children,  on  payment  of  two  rents  of  bs, 
each.  Mrs.  Green,  one  of  those  children,  and  long  a  cele- 
brated actress,  resided  in  the  old  inn  until  her  death,  in 
1791.  Hippisley  himself  died  in  1748.  (Much  of  the  above 
information  respecting  Jacob's  Wells  has  been  obtained  from 
the  MSS.  of  Mr.  Tyson,  now  in  the  possession  of  Alderman 
Fox.)  The  theatre  might  well  be  described  by  Chatterton 
as  "  a  hut."     The  accommodation  for  the  players  was  so 


64  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1704. 

contracted  that  an  actor  who  left  the  stage  on  one  side  and 
re-entered  on  the  other  had  to  walk  round  the  outside  of  the 
house.  Adjoining  it  was  another  ale-house,  the  Malt  Shovel, 
and  a  hole  was  made  in  the  party  wall,  through  which 
liquors  could  be  handed  in  to  the  players,  as  well  as  to  the 
upper  class  spectators  who  in  those  days  crowded  the  stage. 
Instead  of  footlights,  the  stage  was  illuminated  by  tallow 
candles,  stuck  in  four  hoops,  and  suspended  over  the  actors' 
heads.  And  it  is  recorded  that  on  one  occasion  a  personator 
of  Richard  III.  wielded  his  sword  so  recklessly  that  he  cut 
the  rope  of  one  of  the  primitive  chandeliers,  and  had  to  be 
rescued  from  the  hoop  by  the  laughing  spectators.  The 
drama  nevertheless  flourished  in  this  humble  abode,  and 
Mr.  Smith  (MSS.  Museum  and  Library)  states  that  Hippis- 
ley,  and  afterwards  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Green,  paid  his 
friends  £41  a  year  for  the  above  loan.  An  advertisement  of 
July,  1759,  announces  that  for  the  greater  convenience  of  the 
public  "  an  amphitheatre  will  be  erected  after  the  manner 
practised  at  the  Theatres  Royal  in  London,  where  servants 
will  be  permitted  to  keep  places."  In  the  following  year 
"  ladies  and  gentlemen  are  desired  to  send  their  servants  by 
five  o'clock,"  to  secure  seats.  The  great  drawback  of  the 
establishment  was  the  total  absence  of  lights  in  the  neigh- 
bouring roads.  Sometimes  the  manager  announced  that 
men  would  be  placed  with  torches  from  the  theatre  to  College 
Green.  One  playbill  informs  the  public  that  "  the  night 
will  be  illuminated  with  the  Silver  Rays  of  Cynthia."  Less 
poetically,  some  conclude  with  a  prominent  note :  — "  A 
Moon  Light  Night."  In  1763  Mr.  Winstone,  a  popular 
comedian,  added  to  the  announcement  of  his  benefit : — "It is 
presumed  Ma,dame  Cynthia  will  appear  in  her  utmost  splen- 
dour." But  his  wit  nearly  caused  a  riot,  for  the  occupants 
of  the  gallery,  complaining  that  "  the  foreign  lady  "  was 
not  forthcoming,  became  noisy  and  unruly,  and  were  with 
difficulty  appeased.  The  St.  Augustine's  theatre  was  con- 
verted into  an  Assembly  Room  previous  to  1742,  but  the 
theatre  in  Stoke's  Croft  continued  to  be  occasionally  occu- 
pied. Advertisements  of  the  "  seasons  "  of  1744  and  1746 
appeared  in  the  Bristol  Oracle^  and  the  same  paper  of 
August  Bth,  1749,  announced  the  performance  of  "  Scapen's 
Metamorphoses,"  at  Lloyd's  Great  Room,  at  the  end  of  the 
Horse  Fair,  a  place  frequently  used  by  strolling  players 
during  the  annual  saturnalia  of  the  fair.  Temple  fair  had 
also  its  patrons,  and  the  Oracle  oi  January  IBth,  1743,  stated 
that  amongst  "  the  many  elegant  divertisements  to  be  ex- 


1704-5.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  65 

hibited  "  at  the  forthcoming  holiday,  "  something  new  and 
curious  "  would  be  given  *•  at  the  large  Theatrical  Room, 
near  the  Counterslip/^  Mr.  Smith  asserts  that  a  theatre 
also  existed  about  this  time  in  Orchard  Street,  but  this  is 
unquestionably  erroneous.  The  advertisements  which  led 
him  into  the  mistake  refer  to  the  old  theatre  in  Orchard 
Street,  Bath,  projected  by  Hippisley,  in  concert  with  Roger 
Watts,  of  Bristol,  in  1747. 

News  of  the  great  victory  at  Blenheim  on  the  13th  August, 
1704,  was  received  in  the  city  a  fortnight  later  with  every 
token  of  enthusiasm.  The  streets,  says  a  contemporary 
chronicler,  "  were  in  a  flame  with  bonfires,^^  and  the  enor- 
mous pile  set  on  fire  at  the  newly  decorated  High  Cross  so 
"  tarnished  and  blistered  it  that  it  was  grievous  tx>  behold." 
The  illumination  of  the  houses,  he  adds,  could  not  be  sur- 
passed in  brilliancy,  but  the  absence  of  coloured  lamps  at 
the  residence  of  the  mayor  (Peter  Saunders)  gave  offence  to 
the  populace.  His  worship  was  suspected  of  having  made 
money  out  of  his  office,  **  giving  no  hospitality  ;  moreover, 
he  had  a  sour  and  lofty  look,  which  made  him  much  dis- 
liked." Wherefore  the  mob  called  for  the  exhibition  of  more 
candles;  and  the  demand  not  being  complied  with,  they 
smashed  the  windows,  and  committed  other  mischief,  giving 
the  constables  "  sore  discomfort." 

Previous  to  this  time  the  road  from  Bristol  to  Kingsweston 
and  Shirehampton  was  extremely  narrow  and  inconvenient, 
having  been  originally  designed  only  for  horse  traffic.  By  a 
subscription  amongst  the  neighbouring  landowners,  the 
present  road  was  laid  out  in  the  autumn  of  1704,  and  the 
Corporation,  **  to  encourage  so  good  and  useful  a  work,"  con- 
tributed £20.  The  new  road  passed  close  to  Stoke  and 
Elingsweston  Houses,  so  that  visitors  might  alight  at  the 
doors  of  those  mansions.  Some  years  later,  at  the  expense 
of  the  respective  owners,  the  highway  was  slightly  diverted, 
and  assumed  its  present  lines. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  barbarous  treatment 
of  women  convicted  of  petty  offences.  At  the  sessions  in 
March,  1705,  Mary  James,  "  for  a  cheat,"  was  sentenced  to 
stand  in  the  pillory  half  an  hour  and  on  the  pillory  one  hour 
for  six  successive  market  days.  She  probably  suffered 
severely  from  the  missiles  of  the  mob,  for  about  seven  weeks 
later  another  woman,  convicted  of  a  small  felony,  "  prayed 
transportation,"  which  was  granted.  A  third  female,  found 
guilty  of  obtaining  three  yards  of  dowlais  by  fraudulent 
pretences,  was  sentenced  to  be  stripped  naked  to  the  waist, 

F 


66  THE   AMNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1705. 

and  whipped  down  one  side  of  High  Street  and  up  the 
other.  In  the  same  year  a  man,  for  stealing  a  cheese,  was 
ordered  to  be  flogged  from  All  Saints'  Church  to  the  White 
Horse  inn,  Redcliff  Street,  and  thence  back  to  Newgate,  the 
cheese  to  be  carried  by  his  side. 

A  general  election  took  place  about  the  end  of  April,  1706. 
Unusual  excitement  prevailed  throughout  the  country,  and 
there  was  a  "mighty  stir"  in  Bristol  on  behalf  of  "Mr^ 
Edward  Colston's  nephew  "  (name  not  given) ;  but  the  for- 
mer members,  Sir  William  Daines  and  Colonel  Robert  Yate, 
appear  to  have  been  returned  without  opposition. 

Mr.  Evans,  in  his  "  Chronological  Outline,''  noted  under 
the  year  170B,  "  The  first  brass  made  in  England  at  Baptist 
Mills  "  ;  and  the  statement  has  been  accepted  and  republished 
by  Mr.  Pryce,  Mr.  NichoUs,  and  others.  The  truth  is  that 
brass  was  manufactured  in  this  country  from  a  very  early 
period.  The  Parliaments  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Edward  VI. 
passed  statutes  to  prevent  the  exportation  of  the  metal,  "  lest 
there  should  not  be  enough  left  for  making  guns  and  house- 
hold utensils."  During  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  monopoly 
of  making  brass  was  granted  to  two  men,  who  sold  tneir 
patent  rights  to  a  London  "  Mineral  and  Battery  Society  "  ; 
and  this  company,  as  appears  from  an  Exchequer  Commis- 
sion in  the  Record  Office,  had  permitted  certain  lessees  to 
erect  wire  works  at  Tintem  before  1604.  Another  Ex- 
chequer Commission  refers  to  a  "  furnace  of  battery  "  seized 
by  **  the  searcher  of  the  port  of  Bristol "  before  1638.  The 
English  copper  mines,  however,  were  so  neglected  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  that  the  Government  had  to  obtain 
foreign  supplies  of  that  metal,  and  the  manufacture  of  brass 
may  have  been  cramped  from  the  same  cause ;  but  from  the 
multitude  of  */  great  brass  pots  "  that  has  been  shown  to 
exist  in  Bristol  households,  the  trade  of  the  brass  founder 
evidently  continued  a  prosperous  one.  It  is  true  that  it 
underwent  a  great  local  development  in  1706,  when  a  com- 
pany of  Bristol  merchants,  having  made  arrangements  for 
obtaining  a  cheap  supply  of  copper  ore  from  Cornwall,  and 
of  calamine  from  the  hills  around  their  own  city,  established 
a"  bra^s battery  works"  at  Baptist  Mills.  The  copper,  it  is 
said,  did  not  cost  the  undertakers  more  than  from  £2  10».  to 
£4  per  ton  for  several  years,  and  the  profits  of  the  brass 
works  were  consequently  very  great.  Mr.  Thomas  Coster, 
of  Bristol,  who  was  largely  concerned  in  the  enterprise,  in- 
vented a  hydraulic  engine,  and  introduced  it  into  Cornwall, 
for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  mines,  and  made  a  large 


1705.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY,  67 

fortune  by  working  some  of  them  himself.  The  water 
power  of  the  Froom  being  insufficient  for  the  crowing 
business  in  Bristol,  more  extensive  mills  were  erected  by  the 
company  at  Keynsham,  where,  at  the  end  of  the  century, 
fully  one  half  of  the  brass  wire  made  in  the  kingdom  was 
produced,  besides  an  immense  quantity  of  other  goods.  The 
same  company  (the  principal  partners  of  which  in  1749 
were  Walter  Hawksworth^  Edward  Harford,  Harford  Lloyd, 
Nehemiah  Chapman,  Trueman  Harford,  Henry  Swyramer, 
Richard  Champion,  Andrew  Lloyd,  and  Joseph  Loscombe, 
but  which  was  known  for  many  years  as  Harford's  and 
Bristol  Brass  and  Copper  Company)  had  smaller  mills  on  the 
Avon  at  Weston,  Saltford,  and  Kelston,  and  on  the  Wj^e  at 
Redbrook.  (The  works  at  Baptist  Mills  were  not  removed 
to  Keynsham  until  after  1814.)  Competitors  were  naturally 
tempted  into  the  field  by  the  success  of  the  first  enterprise. 
Messrs.  Elton  and  Waynes  had  extensive  copper  and  orass 
works  at  Crewe's  Hole  and  Hanham  about  1760.  A  still 
larger  concern  was  that  of  Messrs.  Freeman  and  Bristol 
Copper  Company,  of  Small  Street,  who  had  works  at  S win- 
ford,  Woollard,  Publow,  and  elsewhere,  and  did  not  relinquish 
business  until  1860.  In  Bonner  and  Middhton^s  Bristol 
Journal  of  March  3rd,  1787,  it  is  stated  that  the  works,  mills, 
etc.  of  the  United  Brass  Battery,  Wire  and  Copper  Company 
of  Bristol  had  been  sold  on  the  previous  Monday  for  £16,(XX). 
A  very  large  spelter  (zinc)  manufactory,  the  ruins  of  which 
extend  over  some  acres,  was  established  at  Warmley  by 
William  Champion,  who  had  also  a  "  commodious  brass 
foundry  "  on  St.  Augustine's  Back.  Bishop  Watson,  who 
states  that  spelter  was  first  made  in  Bristol  in  1743,  person- 
ally visited  Champion's  works  in  1766  to  see  the  process  of 
making  zinc,  which  was  at  that  time  kept  rigidly  secret. 
Champion,  though  a  man  of  conspicuous  skill  and  ingenuity, 
was  unsuccessful  in  business,  and  his  works  at  Warmley, 
described  as  **  the  most  complete  in  the  kingdom,"  with 
smelting  furnaces  at  Kingswood  and  forges  at  Kelston,  were 
offered  for  sale  in  March,  1769,  and  were  soon  afterwards 
purchased  by  Harford's  Copper  Company.  According  to  a 
story  in  Ellacombe's  History  of  Bitton,  the  new  owners 
acquired  great  riches  from  working  Champion's  processes, 
and  having  subsequently  sought  him  out  (he  was  found  in 
Liverpool  working  as  a  mason),  they  oflFered  him  an  annuity, 
which  he  declined.  John  Cliampion,  Bristol,  merchant,  be- 
came bankrupt  in  1798,  and  his  brass  and  copper  wire  works, 
together  with  his  copper  and  lead  mills  in  Lewin's  Mead, 


68  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1705. 

were  offered  for  sale  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  December  1st 
in  that  year.  Owing  to  the  local  demand  for  copper  when 
the  above  brass  works  were  in  vigour,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  metal  consumed  yearly  was  smelted  around  Bristolr  The 
refuse  ore,  cast  into  square  blocks  of  almost  impenetrable 
hardness,  were  largely  employed  to  form  copings  of  walls. 
The  well-known  Black  Castle  at  Arno's  Vale,  built  by  a 
copper  smelter  named  Reeve,  about  1760,  is  chiefly  con- 
structed of  this  material. 

On  the  12th  December,  1706,  Sir  William  Lewis  represen- 
ted to  the  Common  Council  "  that  the  great  noise  made  by 
trucks  in  this  city  by  means  of  the  iron  materials  about 
them  is  a  great  annoyance  to  the  inhabitants  thereof." 
Whereupon  it  was  resolved  that  no  trucks  should  be  per- 
mitted in  the  streets  unless  they  were  made  wholly  of  wood 
(excepting  the  banding  of  the  wheels).  And  the  bellmau 
was  ordered  to  proclaim  that  offenders  against  this  order 
would  be  fined  3^.  4rf.  for  every  offence.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting,  also  on  the  motion  of  Sir  William  Lewis,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  take  measures  for  preventing  heavy 
carts,  having  wheels  banded  with  iron,  from  traversing  the 
streets.  The  obnoxious  carts,  it  may  be  observed,  were  not 
the  property  of  outsiders.  The  com  brought  to  the  city  by 
farmers,  and  the  coal  supply  from  Kings  wood,  were  alike 
transported  by  pack-horses.  The  terms  of  the  resolution 
show  that  the  old  interdiction  of  carts  was  frequently  in- 
fringed, and  Sir  William's  attempt  to  renew  its  vigour 
seems  to  have  been  abortive.  Nevertheless,  at  the  March 
quarter  session  in  1708,  two  tradesmen  were  presented  by 
the  grand  jury  for  making  use  of  carts  with  iron-bound 
wheels,  when  the  bench  gave  orders  that,  "  unless  they  took 
off  their  bandages  by  the  1st  April,"  they  should  be  prose- 
cuted at  the  next  session. 

The  misfortunes  of  the  family  of  a  deceased  member  of 
the  Corporation  came  before  the  Council  about  this  time, 
and  furnish  an  early  instance  of  what  afterwards  became 
a  regular  custom.  The  case  was  somewhat  peculiar.  In 
the  reign  of  James  II.,  a  mercer  named  John  Bubb,  who 
also  held  the  office  of  Collector  of  Customs,  was  elected  a 
common  councillor,  but  refused  to  accept  the  honour  on 
the  plea  that  he  was  a  servant  of  the  Crown.  The  matter 
led  to  a  correspondence  between  the  Corporation  and  the 
Government,  the  former  insisting  on  its  right  to  elect  any 
free  burgess.  Mr.  Bubb's  coUectorship,  it  was  urged,  did 
not  "  disturb  him  in  his  trade  of  shopkeeping,  which  he 


1705-6.]         IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURA.  69 

follows  very  considerably."  The  King,  however,  sent 
positive  commands  that  Bubb  should  be  excused,  and  the 
roj'^al  word  was  at  that  time  law.  But  when  regal  inter- 
meddling came  to  an  end  with  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Bubb  was 
again  elected  a  councillor,  and  in  due  course  sustained  the 
offices  of  sheriiF  and  mayor.  Dying  about  1699  in  embarrassed 
circumstances,  his  widow  petitioned  the  Chamber  for  relief, 
and  on  the  12th  December,  1706,  she  was  granted  a  yearly 
annuity  of  £30  for  life. 

The  war  with  France,  although  singularly  glorious,  was 
attended  with  the  usual  difficulty  in  raising  reinforcements 
for  the   army  and   navy.      In   1703   the   court  of  quarter 
sessions   ordered   a  number  of   the  debtors   imprisoned  in 
Newgate  to   be   liberated,  on  condition   that  they  "  listed 
as  soldiers ''  or  found  substitutes,  and  some  of  them  found 
means   to  adopt  the  latter  course.      In  August,  1706,  one 
Edward  Taunton,  sentenced  to  death  i'or  burglary  in  1704, 
but  repeatedly  reprieved,  obtained  the  Queen's  pardon  on 
condition  that  he  entered  the  navy,  and  was  thereupon  re- 
leased.    A  few   months  later    a  half-witted    man   named 
Stockman  was  brought  before  the  magistrates  charged  with 
shouting  "  God  save  James  III.,''  and  causing  a  riot  in  the 
streets.     Evidence  having  been  given  that  the  culprit  was 
of  unsound  mind,  the  bench  consented  to  dismiss  him  if  he 
would  serve  in  the  Marines  ;  but  as  he  was  not  only  mentally 
but  bodily  infirm,  he  was  granted  leave  to  find  a  substitute, 
which  he  did,  and  was  discharged !     Early  in  1706  an  Act 
of  Parliament  was  passed  under  which  every  imprisoned 
debtor  owing  less  than  £60  was  permitted  to  volunteer  into 
the  navy,  or,  on  his  failing  to  do  so,  could  be  forced  into  the 
fleet  by  a  magisterial  order.     The  supply  of  men  was  never- 
theless insufficient,  and  in  May,  1706,  a  ship  of  war  having 
been  obtained  **  to  take  care  of  the  vessels  belonging  to  this 
port,"   the   Council   resolved    to    advance   i*15U,   and    the 
Merchants'  Company  ±'200,  to   promote  the  enlistment  of 
a  crew.     Two  months  later  there  was  a  general  muster  of 
the  militia  forces  of  the  district,  when  the  entertainment 
of  the  Earl  of  Berkeley,  Lord  Lieutenant,  cost  the  city  £68. 

One  of  the  barbarous  customs  of  the  age  was  the  branding 
upon  the  cheek  of  persons  convicted  of  petty  thefts.  The 
practice,  which  was  performed  in  open  court,  was  so  repug- 
nant to  the  feelings  of  sensitive  officials  as  to  lead  to  evasions 
of  the  law.  In  one  case  the  Bristol  sheriffs  were  fined  40«. 
for  not  causing  two  women  to  be  "  well  burnt  "  ;  in  another 
instance  the  same  functionaries  were  fined  Jcb  for  a  like 


70  THE    ANNALS   OP   BKI8T0L  [1706-7. 

offence.  At  the  sessions  at  which  the  felon  Taunton  was 
transformed  into  a  defender  of  his  country,  the  keeper  of 
Newgate  was  fined  £6  *'  for  not  having  his  irons  for  burning 
ready,"  but  ultimately  escaped  with  a  reprimand.  It  would 
appear  that  prisoners  frequently  gave  bribes  to  get  the 
branding-iron  applied  cold,  but  that  wily  old  magistrates,  to 
defeat  such  shifts,  insisted  on  seeing  the  smoke  arise  from 
the  singed  skin  of  each  offender. 

The  Corporation  had  a  windfall  in  1706,  upon  the  death  of 
Queen  Catherine,  widow  of  Charles  II.  During  the  trans- 
ports of  the  Restoration,  the  Council  handed  over  to  the 
king,  for  life,  certain  fee-farm  rents  that  the  Corporation 
had  purchased  of  the  Commonwealth  in  1660,  and  these 
were  transferred  to  the  Queen  as  part  of  her  dowry.  On 
Sept.  30th,  1706,  the  chamberlain  records : — "  Received  of 
Morgan  Smith  and  Nathaniel  Webb,  sheriffs,  being  a  year's 
fee-farm  rents  formerly  paid  to  Queen  Dowager  but  now 
fain  to  the  city's  hands  by  her  death,  £142  10«." 

The  West  of  England  weavers  were  probably  the  first 
artisans  in  the  district  to  form  what  later  generations  have 
called  a  trade  union.  On  the  25th  February,  1707,  a  petition 
was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  from  the  clothiers 
and  serge  and  stuff  makers  of  Bristol,  complaining  that  their 
journeymen,  having  combined  together,  not  only  prevented 
youths  being  taken  as  apprentices  without  leave  of  the  con- 
federacy, but  required  the  dismissal  of  such  weavers  as  would 
not  join  in  their  combination.  These  demands,  with  others, 
had  been  urged  with  threats  of  leaving  work,  and  with 
riotous  conduct,  attended  with  destruction  of  goods.  A 
similar  petition  from  Taunton  stated  that  the  weavers  had 
provided  themselves  with  a  common  fund,  a  common  seal, 
colours  and  tipstaffs,  and  that  the  gaol  had  been  broken 
open  by  them  and  several  prisoners  rescued.  The  Govern- 
ment soon  after  undertook  to  suppress  disturbances  and 
prosecute  offenders.  It  appears  from  contemporary  docu- 
ments that  there  were  many  weavers  at  this  time  in  the 
Earishes  of  Westbury  and  Clifton,  and  in  the  out-parish  of 
t.  Philip.  The  complaint  as  to  the  workmen's  combina- 
tions was  renewed  in  1726,  when  the  corporations  of 
Bristol  and  Taunton,  in  petitions  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
stated  that  unlawful  clubs  of  weavers  and  woolcombers  had 
attempted  to  fix  the  rate  of  wages,  assaulted  workmen  who 
refused  to  join  them,  and  insulted  the  magistrates.  The 
House  ordered  an  inquiry,  in  the  course  of  which  some  of  the 
employers  admitted  that  the  insubordination  of  the  artisans 


1707.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  71 

was  often  due  to  the  payment  of  wages  in  goods  instead  of 
in  money. 

The  scanty  demand  of  the  rural  population  for  books  was 
supplied  early  in  the  century  by  hawkers  and  pedlars,  whose 
packs  contained  a  very  miscellaneous  assortment  of  wares. 
Dealers  of  this  class  attended  Bristol  fair  in  great  numbers 
for  the  purpose  of  replenishing  their  stores,  and  the  whole- 
sale traders  with  whom  they  dealt  found  it  convenient  to 
address  them  through  the  London  newspapers.  The  follow- 
ing example  of  these  advertisements  is  extracted  from  the 
London  Post  Man  of  July  19th,  1707 : — "  This  is  to  give  notice 
to  all  chapmen  keeping  Bristol  Fair,  that  Benj.  Harris,  book- 
seller, in  Gracechurch  Street,  will  (as  usual)  keep  the  said 
fair  this  year  at  his  shop  under  Christ  Church,  in  Wine 
Street,  where  they  may  be  furnished  with  Bibles,  Common 
Prayers,  shop  books,  pocket  books,  as  also  all  other  chapman's 
books  in  divinity  or  history." 

On  the  22nd  July,  1707,  Abraham  Darby,  blacksmith, 
was  admitted  a  freeman  of  the  city  without  paying  a  fine, 
on  the  nomination  of  the  ex-mayor,  Nathaniel  Day,  who 
exercised  the  right  by  an  ancient  custom.  Darby,  bom  in 
Dudley,  had  commenced  business  as  a  malt-mill  maker  at 
Baptist  Mills  in  1700.  Being  joined  by  three  partners, 
Quakers  like  himself,  he  added  brass  and  iron  founding  to 
his  original  business.  At  that  time  the  art  of  casting  iron 
pots  for  cooking  purposes  had  scarcely  been  attempted  in 
England,  and  Darby  was  as  unsuccessml  as  had  been  many 
others  in  producing  pots  equal  to  those  made  in  Holland. 
Resolved  on  overcoming  the  difficulty,  he  made  a  tour  in 
the  Netherlands,  and  engaged  some  Dutch  workmen ;  but 
his  experiments  still  continued  to  fail  until  a  Bristol  boy  in 
his  service,  John  Thomas,  made  a  suggestion  which  brought 
about  complete  success.  To  prevent  piracy,  Darby  applied 
for  a  patent,  asserting  that  he  had  discovered  and  perfected 
"  a  way  of  casting  iron  bellied  pots  and  other  ware  in  sand 
only,  without  loam  or  clay,"  by  which  such  vessels  could  be 
sold  cheaply,  to  the  advantage  of  the  poor  and  the  benefit  of 
commerce.  A  monopoly  of  the  process  was  granted  to  him 
for  fourteen  years.  Thomas  was  well  rewarded  for  his  in- 
genuity, and  his  descendants,  agents  of  the  Darby  family 
for  about  a  century,  ultimately  attained  a  high  position  in 
the  city.  Darby  proposed  to  carry  on  his  new  manufacture 
on  a  great  scale  at  Baptist  Mills,  but  his  partners  having 
refused  to  advance  the  required  capital,  he  removed  in  1709 
to  Coalbrookdale,  Staflfordshire,  where  he  established  works 


72  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1707, 

that  acquired  a  European  reputation  whilst  under  the 
management  of  Richard  Reynolds,  who  has  been  styled  by 
Mr.  Pryce  the  greatest  of  Bristol's  great  philanthropists. 
Darby  died  in  1717,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  son,  also  named 
Abraham.  Reynolds,  bom  in  Com  Street  in  1736,  married 
in  1767  the  only  daughter  of  the  second  Darby,  and  assumed 
the  management  at  Uoalbrookdale  on  the  death  of  his  father- 
in-law,  in  1762.  During  the  first  half  of  the  century 
scarcely  any  iron  was  manufactured  in  England,  the  woods 
having  been  mostly  cut  down,  and  the  attempts  to  use  coal 
for  smelting  having  proved  unsuccessful.  It  was  chiefly 
under  Reynolds's  supervision  that  the  difficulty  was  over- 
come, and  that  coal  was  employed,  not  only  to  smelt  the 
ore,  but  to  convert  the  cast  metal  into  malleable  iron.  The 
latter  improvement,  known  as  puddling,  due  to  the  sagacity 
of  two  workmen,  was  communicated  in  April,  1766,  to 
Thomas  Goldney,  a  Bristol  Quaker  who  held  a  share  in  the 
works,  with  Reynolds's  strong  recommendation  that  a  patent 
should  be  obtained  for  the  discovery.  The  patent  was 
secured  in  the  following  June,  and  produced  enormous 
profits  to  the  firm.  Reynolds,  who  returned  to  Bristol  in 
1804,  is  said  to  have  given  upwards  of  £200,000  towards 
philanthropic  and  charitable  objects. 

Some  notable  regulations  bearing  upon  infant  labour  and 
the  education  of  the  young  were  made  by  the  Incorporation 
of  the  Poor  on  the  13th  February,  1707.  A  committee  re- 
ported that  one  Seth  Shute  had  offered  to  employ  sixty  girls 
and  boys,  of  about  seven  years  of  age,  in  spinning,  the 
guardians  granting  him  suitable  accommodation  for  eight 
or  ten  looms  for  weaving  linen  in  St.  Peter's  Hospital. 
Each  child  was  to  work  six  weeks  without  pay ;  afterwards 
the  guardians  were  to  receive  Is,  per  head  per  week.  The 
hours  of  labour,  it  was  recommended,  should  be  "  the  accus- 
tomed hours  of  the  house  " — namely,  from  6  a.m.  to  7  p.m.  in 
winter,  and  from  6  a.m.  to  7  p.m.  in  summer ;  half  an  hour 
being  allowed  for  breakfast,  one  hour  for  dinner,  and  one 
hour  for  schooling.  As  the  guardians  had  determined  that 
twenty  of  the  boy  inmates  should  be  taught  writing  and 
arithmetic,  it  was  further  proposed  that  this  favoured 
handful  should  have  two  hours'  schooling  upon  three  days  a 
week,  but  should  "  make  good  "  the  time  thus  lost  by  work- 
ing from  6  a.m.  to  8  o'clock  at  night  in  summer!  The 
report  was  confirmed,  but  it  will  cause  the  reader  no  sorrow 
to  learn  that  the  scheme  afterwards  proved  unworkable. 
The  clerk  to  the  board,  who  had  a  salary  of  £30,  from  which 


1707.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  73 

£7  were  deducted  for  rent,  petitioned  the  guardians  that, 
as  his  time  was  mostly  taken  up  by  its  work,  and  as  he  had 
to  instruct  about  twenty  boys  in  writing,  they  would  permit 
him  to  live  rent  free.  This  was  granted ;  but  in  October, 
1709,  the  guardians  changed  their  minds,  and  reduced  the 
clerk's  income  to  £23.  At  the  last-mentioned  meeting  the 
most  valuable  gift  ever  made  to  the  incorporation  was  re- 
ported to  the  board — namely,  the  bequest,  by  John  Knight, 
Esq.,  of  London,  deceased  (supposed  to  be  a  son  of  the  John 
Knight  who  was  mayor  of  Bristol  in  1670-1),  of  a  house 
then  known  as  the  George,  in  High  Street,  occupied  by  a 
linendraper. 

At  the  quarter  sessions  in  May,  1707,  the  justices,  under 
their  statutable  powers,  made  a  new  table  of  rates  for  the 
carriage  of  goods  by  wagons  and  pack-horses  between 
London  and  Bristol.  The  charges,  which  would  be  deemed 
onerous  by  modem  tradesmen,  were  as  follows : — By  horse 
carriage :  packages  above  28  lb.  at  bs,  per  cwt.  in  summer, 
and  at  6s,  per  cwt.  in  winter ;  packages  between  14  lb.  and 
28  lb.,  Id.  per  lb. ;  above  6-lb.  and  under  14  lb.,  l^d.  per  lb. ; 
small  parcels,  6d,  each.  By  wagons :  heavy  goods,  3s,  per 
cwt.  in  summer,  and  4«.  in  winter ;  light  goods,  bs.  and  6s, 
per  cwt.  in  the  respective  seasons. 

The  bellman  was  an  important  institution  in  an  age  in 
which  newspapers  and  advertising  were  still  in  their  infancy. 
In  the  civic  accounts  for  1707  is  a  payment  to  John  Packer, 
founder,  who  charged  lis,  for  "a  bell  for  ye  bellman,  for 
ye  yous  of  the  sitty,  made  of  newe  mettell,*'  and  8.9.  for 
"  new  casting  and  turning  the  bellman's  bell  "  ;  but  allowed 
4s,  6d,  for  **  a  ould  bell  waying  6  lb."  The  account,  for 
some  unexplained  reason,  had  been  outstanding  for  eleven 
years. 

The  Thanksgiving  Day  ordered  by  the  Crown  to  celebrate 
the  Union  between  England  and  Scotland  evoked  but  little 
enthusiasm  in  Bristol.  The  corporate  disbursements  on  the 
occasion  amounted  only  to  about  £13.  It  may  be  worth 
recording  that  the  postage  of  a  congratulatory  address, 
forwarded  to  the  Queen  on  the  occasion,  amounted  to  no  less 
than  11^.  6d.,  half  a  crown  of  the  amount  being  "  ye  charge 
for  delivering  early.''  The  postage  of  a  petition  to  Parlia- 
ment, soon  afterwards,  cost  10s, 

The  church  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff  was  at  this  time  in  a 
state  of  great  dilapidation  through  long-continued  neglect, 
and  the  parochial  authorities  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
extraordinary  means  for  procuring  funds.     Probably   en- 


74  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1707-8. 

couraged  by  the  support  of  William  Whitehead,  then  mayor 
(*'  the  first  mayor  that  past  his  mayoralty  in  RedclifF  since 
the  memory  of  man  in  this  present  age,"  says  a  contem- 
porary annalist),  at  the  adjourned  session  in  May,  1708,  they 
represented  to  the  justices  that  the  estimated  cost  of  repair- 
ing the  edifice  was  upwards  of  £4,400.  As  the  money  could 
not  be  raised  in  the  parish,  they  prayed  the  magistrates  to 
certify  the  petition  about  to  be  sent  to  the  Lord  Chancellor 
for  a  brief,  and  their  request  w^as  approved.  A  brief,  it  may 
be  explained,  was  a  royal  mandate,  ordering  a  collection  to 
be  made  in  every  parish  in  England  on  behalf  of  a  certain 
designated  object.  The  document  was  obtained  in  due 
course,  but  distant  congregations  naturally  displayed  no 
great  liberality  in  responding  to  the  appeal,  and  the  gross 
amount  collected  was  only  £1,400.  Owing  to  the  heavy 
fees  extorted  by  officials  in  London,  the  net  produce  of 
the  brief  was  reduced  to  about  £700.  In  consequence  of 
this  disappointment  only  about  £'2,000  were  spent  on  the 
church,  the  Corporation  giving  £200.  "  Nevertheless,"  says 
the  above  annalist,  "  the  inside  was  beautified  and  accommo- 
da^ted  with  abundance  of  rare  things  which  it  had  not 
before,  and  in  particular  the  chancell  enlarged,  and  a  new 
alter  piece.''  The  reparations  were  effected  with  much  less 
damage  to  the  fabric  than  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  barbarous  architectural  taste  of  the  time. 

During  the  many  wars  of  the  eighteenth  century,  priva- 
teering was  a  favourite  pursuit  of  speculative  Bristolians, 
some  of  whom  profited  largely  by  their  enterprises,  whilst 
others  sustained  heavy  losses.  The  most  successful  and  in- 
teresting of  those  adventures  was  that  started  in  1708  by  a 
confederation  of  merchants,  embracing  Christopher  Shuter 
(mayor,  1711),  Sir  John  Hawkins  (mayor,  1701),  James 
Holledge  (mayor,  1709),  John  Romsey  (town  clerk),  Philip 
Freke  (sheriff,  1708),  Thomas  Clement  (sheriff,  1709),  John 
Batchelor,  Francis  Rogers,  Thomas  Goldney,  Thomas  Dover, 
M.D.,  Richard  Hawksworth,  and  others --several  of  the  com- 
pany, strange  to  say,  being  Quakers.  With  the  joint  capital 
subscribed,  two  vessels,  called  the  Duke  and  the  Duchess, 
were  carefully  fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  preying  upon  the 
Spanish  and  French  ships,  laden  with  precious  metal  and 
goods,  which  were  frequently  passing  from  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies  to  Europe.  The  Duke,  of  320  tons  and 
30  guns,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  Woodes 
Rogers,  the  second  officer  being  one  of  the  adventurers,  Dr. 
Dover  (afterwards  a  famous  physician,  and  the  inventor  of 


1708.]  IN  THE  ETQHTEENTH  CENTURY.  75 

Dover's  Powder).  The  Duchess,  of  slightly  inferior  size  and 
armament,  was  commanded  by  Captain  Stephen  Ck)urtney 
and  Captain  Edward  Cooke.  The  pilot  for  tx>th  ships  was 
William  Dampier,  a  Somerset  man,  who  had  joined  the 
South  Seas  buccaneers  in  early  life,  and  had  gained  wide  re- 
pute by  two  filibustering  cruises  round  the  globe.  On  the 
2nd  August,  1708,  the  sister  vessels  sailed  from  Kingroad, 
and  convoyed  several  small  ships  to  Ireland.  The  original 
complement  of  men,  says  Capt.  Rogers  in  his  account  of  the 
voyage,  was  226.  Only  about  forty  of  these  were  sailors ; 
above  one-third  were  foreigners  ;  oi  the  rest,  "  several  were 
tinkers,  tailors,  haymakers,  pedlars,  fiddlers,  etc.''  A  portion 
of  this  "  mixed  gang  "  ran  away  at  Cork  ;  others  were  got 
rid  of,  and  the  vacancies  filled  by  a  better  class ;  the  total 
number  being  raised  to  334,  so  that  the  ships  '*  were  very 
much  crowded  and  pestered."  With  the  exception  of  the 
capture  of  a  small  Spanish  barque,  nothing  of  interest  oc- 
eured  until  the  31st  January,  17()9,  when,  on  approaching 
the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  reported  as  uninhabited,  they 
were  surprised  at  the  sight  of  a  fire,  and  feared  that  it  was 
a  token  of  a  French  or  Spanish  fleet.  The  signal  had  been 
raised,  however,  by  Alexander  Selkirk,  a  Scotchman,  who 
had  been  an  officer  in  one  of  the  ships  led  by  Dampier  on  a 
former  voyage,  and  had  voluntarily  separated  from  the  party 
owing  to  a  quarrel  with  his  captain.  Selkirk,  who  had  lived 
alone  on  the  island  for  nearly  four  years  and  a  half,  was 
oflFered  the  post  of  mate  by  Capt.  Rogers,  and  proved  him- 
self an  able  seaman.  Filibustering  now  began  in  earnest. 
After  capturing  six  vessels,  one  of  which  was  a  Frenchman 
of  over  400  tons  burden,  an  attack  was  made  upon  the  city 
of  Guayquil  with  complete  success,  the  inhabitants  flying 
after  a  brief  resistance.  A  portion  of  the  town  was  burnt ; 
the  rest  was  plundered  ;  and  a  party  sent  up  the  river  de- 
spoiled some  fugitive  ladies  of  about  a  thousand  pounds 
worth  of  jewels.  Selkirk,  who  led  this  foray,  was  compli- 
mented by  Rogers  for  his  "  modest "  treatment  of  the  vic- 
tims. Finally,  the  privateers  extorted  30,000  "  pieces  of 
eight "  (about  £7,000)  for  the  ransom  of  the  city,  exclusive 
of  their  previous  plunder.  Four  more  vessels  were  next 
taken  at  sea,  some  of  which  were  ransomed.  The  largest  of 
the  former  prizes  was  now  converted  into  a  sister  privateer, 
which  was  named  the  Marquis.  Whilst  she  was  being  fitted 
out,  there  were  found  in  the  hold  "  600  bales  of  Pope's  Bulls 

t indulgences],  16  reams  in  each  bale,"  so  that  there  must 
Lave  been  nearly  four  millions  of  those  documents,  which 


76  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1708. 

the  Spanish  colonists  were  accustomed  to  purchase  of  the 
clergy  at  high  rates.     **  We  should  have  made  something  of 
them/*  said  Rogers,  "if   we  had  taken  the  bishop"  (who 
escaped).     Making  the  best  of  the  matter,  "  part  were  used 
to  burn  the  pitch  off  the  ships'  bottoms  when  we  careened 
'em  '* ;  and  the  rest  were  thrown  overboard.     After  sailing 
Hbout  some  time  in  search  of  a  Spanish  treasure-ship  expected 
from  Manilla,  the  vessel  in  question,  or  rather  the  smaller  of 
two  ships    which   had   departed   together,   hove   in   sight. 
A  brisk  engagement  ensued,  and  although  the  Spaniards 
had  twenty  guns  and  twenty  **  pateraroes  "  (small  breech- 
loaders), they  were  compelled  to  surrender.     Capt.  Rogers 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  battle,  but  lost  none  of  his  crew. 
Learning  f.om  the  prisoners  that  a  still  richer  prize  was  not 
far  distant,  the  privateers  went  in  search,  but  were  destined 
to  "  catch  a  Tartar."     The  other  Spaniard  had  forty  guns 
and  forty  pateraroes,  and  defended  himself  so  stoutly  during 
a  running   battle  of  two  days  that  his  assailants  found  it- 
prudent  to  sheer  off.     The  captured  ship  was  re-named  the 
.'iatchelor,  in  honour  of  one  of  the  Bristol  adventurers,  and 
was  put  under  the  command  of  Dr.  Dover,  Selkirk  being 
appointed   master.      The  Marquis   was   afterwards   sold  at 
one  of  the  Dutch  settlements.    The  remainder  of  the  voyage 
presented  few  incidents.     As  w sis  almost  always  the  case  in 
privateering  expeditions,  the  chief  officers  had  several  violent 
quarrels  respecting  the  best  course  to  pursue.     Finally,  the 
ships  made  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  whence,  under  the 
convoy  of  some  Dutch  men-of-war,  they  sailed  for  Europe, 
and  arrived  in  the  Texel  in  July,  1711.     Some  of  the  lucky 
owners  repaired  to  Holland  to  feast  their  eyes  on  the  booty, 
the  gross  value  of  which  was  reported  to  be  £170,000.     On 
the   14th   October    the    three   privateers    anchored   in   the 
Thames.     The  story  of  Selkirk,  who  had  not  been  heard  of 
for  eight  years,  excited  much  interest.     Some  details  of  his 
singular  career  were  given  in  1712  by  Woodes  Rogers  in  his 
well-written  account  of  the  voyage,  as  well  as  in  the  rival 
publication  of  Capt.  Cooke,  and  a  fuller  narrative  was  pub- 
lished in  1713  by  Steele  in  the  Englishman  Magazine.     Sel- 
kirk informed  Steele  that  he  had  received  £800  as  his  share 
of  the  prize  monej^,  but  that  he  was  happier  when  he  had 
not  a  farthing.     He  spent  some  time  in  Bristol,  doubtless  to 
obtain  his  money,  but  the  local  tradition  that  Defoe  obtained 
his  "papers,'^  and  was  thus  enabled  to  produce  "Robinson 
Crusoe,"  is  an  idle  fiction.     It  is  known  that  Selkirk  had  no 
manuscripts,  and  the  immortal  story  of  Defoe  was  not  pub- 


1708.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  77 

lished  until  nearly  eight  years  after  the  return  of  the 
wanderer.  Captain  Woodes  Rogers  (who  had  built  two 
houses  in  Queen  Square  before  his  privateering  days)  com- 
manded an  expedition  sent  out  by  the  Government  in  1717 
for  the  purpose  of  crushing  the  formidable  band  of  pirates 
that  harboured  in  the  Bahama  Islands,  and  committed  great 
ravages  on  passing  vessels.  His  efforts  were  speedily  suc- 
cessful, 200  of  the  sea  brigands  being  forced  to  surrender  at 
discretion.  A  curious  paper  written  by  Rogers  to  some  one 
connected  with  the  Government  is  amongst  the  State  Papers 
for  1717.  It  states  that  the  writer,  out  of  his  own  money 
and  on  his  credit  with  his  friends,  had  raised  £17,600,  "  to 
be  employed  towards  making  a  settlement  in  the  islands.'* 
The  Government  appear  to  have  rendered  him  the  support 
he  appealed  for ;  as  he  established  himself  at  Providence, 
and  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  Bahamas  in  1728.  He 
died  at  his  post  in  July,  1732.  The  embarrassments  of  John 
Romsey,  the  town  clerk,  seem  to  have  been  removed  by  the 
profits  of  his  privateering  adventure.  In  August,  1712,  he 
presented  to  the  Cathedral  a  pair  of  massive  silver  candle- 
sticks, which  cost  him  £114.  One  chronicler  states  that 
these  articles  were  actually  captured  from  the  Spaniards  by 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  in  1709.  After  standing  for  a  century 
on  the  Communion  Table,  they  were  removed  by  a  Low 
Church  dean  and  chapter,  but  were  restored  to  their  old 
position  in  1891,  soon  after  the  death  of  Dean  Elliot. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  the  Corporation, 
owing  to  financial  difficulties,  had  felt  compelled  to  suspend 
its  yearly  payment  to  the  city  members  for  their  services  in 
Parliament.  The  last  "  wa^es "  were  paid  in  1695,  when 
Sir  John  Knight  received  £95  13*.  4d.  for  287  days'  service, 
and  Sir  Richard  Hart  £101  13^.  id.  The  civic  treasury 
being  once  more  prosperous,  the  Chamber,  on  the  5th  July, 
1708,  initiated  a  less  costly  method  of  recognising  the  ser- 
vices of  the  city's  representatives.  It  was  ordered  that  a 
present  of  wine  be  made  to  them,  one  hogshead  for  each. 
One  may  feel  certain  that  the  quality  of  the  gift  would  not 
be  unworthy  of  the  Corporation,  but  the  wine  (130  gallons) 
cost  only  Ss,  per  gallon.  It  afterwards  became  the  custom 
to  offer  this  honorarium  annually,  the  quantity  of  wine 
being  doubled  later  on,  and  it  was  not  discontinued  until 
within  living  memory. 

During  the  year  1708,  when  William  Penn  was  in  great 
pecuniary  straits  owing  to  frauds  practised  upon  him  in 
Pennsylvania  by  a  rogue  named   Philip  Ford,  a  Bristol 


78  THE    AliNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1708-9. 

Quaker  whom  he  had  sent  out  as  his  agent,  he  applied  for 
pecuniary  help  to  his  wife's  relatives  and  other  friends  in 
this  city  (which  he  had  left  in  1699,  after  residing  here  about 
two  years).  The  Callowhills,  Goldneys,  and  others  advanced 
him  £6,800,  taking  as  security  a  mortgage  upon  the  entire 
province  of  Pennsylvania.  The  formal  "  lease  for  a  year," 
which  formed  part  of  the  conveyance  to  them,  is  still 
amongst  the  archives  of  the  Bristol  Friends. 

In  February,  1709,  the  guardians  of  the  poor,  putting  in 
force  an  Act  passed  in  the  previous  century,  resolved  that 
all  persons  receiving  weekly  relief  in  the  city  should  bear 
sewed  upon  the  sleeve  of  their  outer  garment  the  letters  c\ 
cut  out  in  red  cloth.  The  poor  were  reluctant  to  wear  this 
degrading  badge,  which  placed  the  lazy  drunkard  and  the 
honest  but  unfortunate  workman  on  the  same  level ;  but  in 
1714  the  guardians  issued  a  warning  that  those  who  did  not 
obey  the  order  would  be  deprived  of  relief;  and  it  continued 
in  force  for  many  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1709  it  was  resolved  to  dispose  of  part 
of  the  civic  plate,  which  was  regarded  as  old  and  unfashion- 
able, and  to  purchase  several  new  articles  of  a  more  orna- 
mental character.  The  London  tradesman  employed  accor- 
dingly furnished  "  a  large  tankard,  newest  fashion,"  costing 
£17  OS,  2d. ;  "  a  large  salver,  newest  fashion,"  ifell  7«.  7rf. ; 
""  a  large  monteth,"  jt34  4s.  6d. ;  and  "  two  paire  of  candle- 
sticks, snuffers,  and  pan,"  £33  lOs.  The  plate,  300  ounces 
in  weight,  cost  about  6s.  6d.  per  ounce.  The  silversmith 
allowed  bs.  4d.  per  ounce  for  the  214  ounces  of  old  plate 
transferred  to  him. 

Owing  to  a  disastrous  harvest  in  the  preceding  year,  the 
price  of  corn  in  the  early  months  of  1709  advanced  to  rates 
which  placed  the  commonest  bread  almost  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  poor,  wheat  rising  to  nearly  90s.  per  quarter.  To 
add  to  the  suffering,  a  terrible  frost,  "  which  rent  and  de- 
stroyed vast  large  trees,"  continued  without  intermission 
from  Christmas  Eve  until  the  middle  of  April.  As  an 
inevitable  consequence  of  dearth  in  those  days,  the  labouring 
classes  had  recourse  to  violence  and  rioting ;  and,  as  was 
usually  the  case  in  Bristol,  the  Kingswood  colliers,  perhaps 
the  most  neglected,  degraded,  and  reckless  community  m 
the  kingdom,  took  the  lead  in  outraging  the  law.  On  the 
21st  May  a  body  of  about  400  miners,  armed  with  cudgels, 
burst  into  the  city  demanding  food,  and  speedily  found 
sympathisers  amongst  the  lower  class  of  labourers,  who  had 
been   intensely  irritated   by  some  shipments  of   wheat  to 


1709.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  79 

France  and  Spain.  Warned  by  some  previous  disturbances, 
the  authorities  (**  our  maggotty  govemours,"  as  Tucker  irre- 
verently terms  them)  had  a  party  of  militia  in  readiness,  of 
which  Major  Wade  took  the  command.  But  previous  to 
resorting  to  extremities,  the  magistrates  acquainted  the 
rioters  that  wheat  should  be  sold  on  the  following  Monday 
at  6s,  8d,  per  bushel,  and  the  mob  forthwith  dispersed.  A 
few  of  the  colliers  remained  in  the  streets,  using  threaten- 
ing language,  whereupon  they  were  caught,  after  a  sharp 
scuffle,  and  imprisoned  in  the  Council  House.  This  came  to 
the  ears  of  the  party  that  had  left  the  city,  who  returned  to 
rescue  them ;  but  a  sanguinary  conflict  was  avoided  by  the 
escape  (said  to  have  been  winked  at  by  the  justices)  of  those 
in  durance,  who  broke  the  new  sash  windows  of  the  muni- 
cipal building  and  went  off  with  their  companions.  The 
crisis  was  costly  to  the  Corporation.  Besides  having  to  com- 
pensate several  constables  for  the  loss  of  "  cimeters,'' 
*•  fuzeys/'  halberts,  hats  and  wigs,  and  to  pay  for  a  huge 
supply  of  beer  for  the  militia  and  for  extra  assistance,  the 
authorities  found  it  necessary  to  make  arrangements  for 
selling  corn  at  a  reduced  price ;  and  Alderman  Batchelor 
was  paid  £275  13«.  "  for  corn  had  of  Mr.  Hort,  occasioned 
by  the  mob."  The  corn,  however,  was  resold,  and  produced 
£216.  The  sales  to  the  poor  exasperated  the  bakers,  who 
**  shutt  up  their  ovens  '*  on  the  mayor  insisting  that  they 
should  lower  their  prices ;  but  they  were  compelled  to  sub- 
mit on  the  magistrates  giving  the  country  bakers  "  free 
tolleration  to  come  every  day  in  the  week  to  our  citty  and 
serve  us  with  bread,  tho'  contrary  to  the  citty  libertys" 
(Tucker's  MS.). 

The  Dean  and  Chapter  and  the  neighbouring  inhabitants 
having  undertaken  about  this  time  to  "  level  and  beautify  " 
College  Green,  which  had  long  lain  neglected  and  unfenced, 
the  Corporation,  in  June,  1709,  subscribed  £40  towards  the 
improvements,  which  included  the  planting  of  a  double  row 
of  young  trees  (most  of  the  old  ones  having  been  destroyed 
in  the  great  storm  of  1703). 

Except  under  extraordinary  circumstances,  the  yearly 
exercise  of  the  train  bands,  or  local  militia,  was  confined  to 
one  day  during  the  summer.  The  rural  parishes  seem  to 
have  been  represented  by  a  single  man  each,  and  the  Cor- 
poration provided  for  only  six.  The  arms  and  ammunition 
were  furnished  by  the  local  authorities,  and  the  charge  for 
St.  Philip's  out-parish  generally  appears  as  "  for  serving  in 
arms,  and  cleaning  and  mending   them,  and   powder   and 


i 


80  THE    ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1709. 

shot,"  the  total  amounting  to  about  12^.  In  1709,  however, 
the  parish  was  called  upon  for  only  Is,  for  cleaning  the 
musket,  and  6d.  for  powder.  In  1716  a  new  musket  and 
bayonet  cost  20^.  6d. 

A  movement  started  in  London  for  spreading  knowledge 
amongst  the  poor  by  the  establishment  of  parochial  charity 
schools  extended  about  this  time  to  Bristol,  whose  destitu- 
tion in  regard  to  education  h«is  been  already  noticed.  The 
first  to  take  action  in  the  city  was  the  Rev.  Arthur  Bedford, 
vicar  of  Temple,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  Christian  Know- 
ledge Society,  stated  that  out  of  232  poor  children  in  his 
parish,  only  three  were  being  instructed  by  the  board  of 
guardians,  "  whose  pretence  of  their  teaching  the  children 
has  hitherto  hindered  all  endeavours  of  this  nature  in  Bris- 
tol." The  parishioners  having  promised  to  subscribe  £BB 
yearly,  to  which  Mr.  Colston  added  £10  per  annum,  a 
school  for  thirty  boys  was  opened  in  August,  1709.  Shortly 
afterwards  Colston  undertook  to  clothe  the  scholars,  and  fol- 
lowed this  up  by  transferring  an  annuity  of  £80  to  certain 
trustees  "  for  clothing  and  educating  forty  poor  boys  for 
ever,"  also  promising  a  site  for  adequate  buildings  "  as  soon 
as  your  parish  is  in  cash  to  build  a  school."  The  money 
required,  to  which  Colston  largely  contributed,  was  soon 
forthcoming,  and  the  new  institution  was  opened  in  Decem- 
ber, 1711.  The  first  local  charity  school  for  girls,  also  in 
Temple  parish,  was  founded  in  1713.  The  next  parish 
school  was  opened  in  1714  by  the  combined  exertions  of  the 
inhabitants  of  St.  Michael's  and  St.  Augustine's. 

The  Government  were  much  embarrassed  in  1709  by  the 
arrival  of  about  eight  thousand  German  Protestants,  who, 
ruined  by  the  French  excesses  in  the  Palatinate,  fled  to 
England  for  refuge.  In  a  letter  to  the  mayor  of  Bristol, 
dated  the  29th  June,  the  Privy  Council,  using  the  old  Tudor 
formula,  "  after  our  hearty  commendations,"  acquainted  his 
worship  with  the  Queen's  order  for  a  general  collection  on 
behalf  of  the  unhappy  fugitives,  and  went  on  to  "  earnestly 
recommend  "  the  magistrates  to  find  employment  for  some 
of  the  exiles  in  any  local  trade  for  which  they  might  be 
fitted.  Although  the  city  had  greatly  profited  by  its  recep- 
tion of  the  industrious  and  skilful  Huguenots  and  other 
foreign  Protestants  some  twenty  years  earlier,  the  Corpora- 
tion viewed  the  new  appeal  with  extreme  disfavour.  Reply- 
ing to  the  Government  on  the  9th  July,  the  mayor  had  the 
effrontery  to  assert  that  "  we  have  no  manufactures  save  the 
making  of  cantaloons  and  woollen  stuffs,  which  trade  is  so 


1709.]  IN  THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  81 

far  decayed  and  lost  that  the  great  number  of  French  refu- 
gees and  of  our  own  people  who  were  employed  therein  are 
grown  so  poor  that  many  hundreds  have  lately  become 
chargeable  "  ;  adding  that  "  the  trade  of  this  city  consisting 
wholely  in  merchandize,  shopkeeping,  and  navigation,  we  are 
not  able  of  making  any  provision  for  these  poor  sufferers/' 
Upwards  of  £15,CXX)  were  subscribed  in  London  for  reliev- 
ing the  immigrants,  a  number  of  whom  were  sent  to  the 
North  of  Ireland,  and  most  of  the  others  to  Carolina  and 
New  York. 

It  was  certainly  true  that  the  woollen  manufactures  of 
the  city  had  shown  signs  of  rapid  decline.  In  October, 
1709,  the  poor  law  authorities,  unable  to  meet  the  cost  of 
relief  out  of  the  amount  of  rates  fixed  by  the  Act  of  1696, 
petitioned  the  Common  Council  to  assist  them  in  procuring 
further  powers.  The  increased  pauperism  was  alleged  to  be 
due  to  the  general  decay  of  the  clothing  trade,  the  high 
price  of  food  during  the  previous  three  years,  the  draughts 
into  the  army  and  navy  of  men  whose  families  were  left 
destitute,  and  "  the  continual  increase  of  buildings  and  in- 
habitants in  the  city,  which  increases  the  poor."  The  Cor- 
poration at  first  imagined  that  the  difficulty  could  be  over- 
come by  temporary  expedients.  It  had  already  advanced 
the  guardians  £1,000,  chiefly  from  charitable  funds,  free  of 
interest.  In  1710  further  loans  were  made  to  the  extent  of 
£660,  on  which  no  interest  was  to  be  paid  for  seven  years. 
In  1712  the  guardians  applied  for,  and  received,  £300,  and 
in  1713  they  obtained  £300  more,  promising  interest  on  the 
two  latter  sums.  How  the  guardians  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing an  equilibrium  will  afterwards  be  seen.  In  the  mean- 
time it  may  be  recorded  that  their  embarrassments  furnished 
arms  to  their  opponents,  in  the  front  of  whom  were  the 
churchwardens,  still  indignant  at  being  deprived  of  their 
ancient  privilege  of  distributing  the  poor  rates.  In  Alder- 
man Fox's  collection  is  an  exceedingly  rare  pamphlet,  dated 
1711,  entitled  "  Some  Considerations  offered  to  the  citizens 
of  Bristol  relating  to  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor."  The 
writer,  who  denounces  the  institution  as  a  "  Whig  device," 
states  that  all  the  plans  attempted  for  employing  the  paupers 
had  proved  costly  failures.  The  sum  of  £5,000  [really 
£4,360]  had  been  raised  by  gifts  to  relieve  the  corporation, 
"but  all  is  unaccountably  sunk,"  while  the  workhouse  is 
"  crowded  with  idle,  lazy,  and  lewd  people." 

The  police  arrangements  of  the  city  continued  to  be  very 
defective.     At  the  quarter  sessions  in  October,  1709,  the 

o 


I 


82  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1710. 

grand  jury  presented  the  officers  of  the  rich  parish  of  St. 
Stephen's,  who,  though  they  had  only  twelve  public  lamps 
to  maintain,  persistently  neglected  that  duty.  The  scaven- 
gers were  also  presented  for  leaving  the  streets  uncleansed — 
a  neglect  that  remained  chronic  throughout  the  century. 

In  despite  of  the  distress  caused  by  war  and  bad  harvests, 
the  commerce  of  the  port  was  making  rapid  strides.  In  1710, 
the  Custom  House  near  Bristol  Bridge  being  insufficient  and 
inconvenient,  the  Commissioners  suggested  that  the  Corporar 
tion  should  erect  a  fitting  building  in  Queen  Square,  for 
which  they  undertook  to  pay  a  rental  of  £120.  On  the  20th 
May  the  Chamber  agreed  to  this  proposal,  and  determined 
that  the  house  should  be  built  under  its  own  supervision. 
The  cost  far  exceeded  expectation,  being  £2,726,  exclusive 
of  the  value  of  the  extensive  site.  The  building,  the  base- 
ment storey  of  which  was  ornamented  with  pillars,  was 
destroyed  during  the  riots  of  1831. 

Although  tea  was  extremely  dear  from  1707  to  1710,  the 
cheapest  being  I6s,,  and  the  dearest  43«.  per  pound,  tea- 
drinking  was  gradually  increasing  amongst  the  wealthier 
class  of  citizens.  The  first  silver  teapot  mentioned  in  local 
wills  was  bequeathed  by  Robert  Bound,  whose  testament 
was  made  during  his  mayoralty,  in  June,  1710.  The  next, 
accompanied  with  a  silver  milt-jug,  occurs  under  1719,  in 
the  will  of  Edith  Morgan,  whose  daughter  was  married  to 
a  tea-dealer;  and  the  third,  to  which  a  "tea  table,  with  all 
the  furniture  of  it,  and  my  china  ware,"  are  added,  is  found 
in  the  will  of  Lady  Cann,  in  1722.  Earthenware  continued 
a  great  rarity.  Amidst  a  quantity  of  household  goods  left 
by  a  Mrs.  Turford  in  1716,  the  testatrix  proudly  bequeathed 
**  my  fine  earthen  basin,  and  three  fine  earthen  platters,  a 
white  cup  with  two  handles,  and  a  glass  mug."  There  is 
no  similar  bequest  until  1719,  when  half  a  dozen  earthen 
plates  are  mentioned  in  a  lady^s  will.  No  early  record  is 
found  of  coflFee-pots.  In  1708  the  price  of  coffee  rose,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  war,  to  11^.  6d.  per  pound,  and  beer  naturally 
maintained  its  supremacy. 

The  Common  Council  being  of  opinion,  in  June,  1710,  that 
certain  leaks  in  the  wooden  pipes  laid  by  the  Water  Company 
on  Bristol  Bridge  would  gradually  destroy  the  structure, 
ordered  the  managers  to  substitute  leaden  pipes.  This  is 
one  of  the  rare  references  made  in  the  Corporation  minutes 
to  the  existence  of  the  company  in  question,  which  never 
met  with  civic  encouragement.  From  the  "  Act  for  supply- 
ing the  City  of  Bristol  with  Fresh  Water/'  passed  in  1696, 


1 710.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTDRY.  83 

it  appears  that  the  promoters  were  Richard  Bury,  Bristol, 
silkman,  Sam.  Sandford,  Bristol,  wine  cooper,  and  three 
London  merchants.  The  capital  was  only  £6,175,  divided 
into  96  shares.  Having  purchased  of  the  Corporation  the 
right  to  take  water  from  the  Avon,  for  which  they  agreed 
to  pay  £166  ISs,  4d.  every  seven  years,  the  promoters  erected 
some  works  at  Hanham,  whence  the  water  was  conveyed 
by  gravitation  to  near  Crewe's  Hole,  where  it  was  driven  by 
an  "  ingenious  machine  " — probably  one  of  Savery's  steam 
engines — to  the  higher  level,  and  finally  reached  a  small 
reservoir  at  Lawrence  Hill.  The  supply  pipes  into  the  city 
were  constructed  of  trunks  of  elms.  The  works  were  com- 
pleted in  1698,  for  in  October,  1699,  a  vote  of  thanks  was 
passed  to  the  company  for  having  furnished,  gratis,  a  twelve- 
month's supply  to  St.  Peter's  Hospital.  The  bulk  of  the 
citizens  were  dependent  for  water  upon  private  wells  (which 
in  a  town  swarming  with  burial  grounds  and  rank  with 
surface  impurities  must  have  been  often  contaminated),  or 
upon  peripatetic  vendors,  who  filled  their  buckets  at  the 
public  conduits.  But  the  yearly  charge  fixed  by  the  com- 
pany— 40^.  per  family — deterred  many  people  from  resorting 
to  the  improved  supply.  From  some  expenses  incurred  by 
the  Corporation  in  1739,  it  appears  that  the  company  had 
then  ten  customers  in  High  Street,  and  that  the  cost  of  100 
feet  of  new  elm  pipes  was  £7  10^.  After  an  unprosperous 
career,  the  company  abandoned  the  works  at  Hanham  and 
Conham  about  1783. 

Luttrell's  Diary  briefly  notes  an  incident  in  July,  1710, 
which  must  have  occasioned  great  rejoicing  in  Bristol.  In- 
telligence, it  says,  had  reached  this  city  that  two  ships 
belonging  to  the  port,  whilst  on  their  way  to  the  West 
Indies,  were  attacked  by  two  French  privateers  of  110  men 
and  90  men  respectively,  but  that  the  Bristol  crews  success- 
fully defended  themselves,  and  actually  captured  their  as- 
sailants, whom  they  triumphantly  carried  to  Antigua. 

Reference  has  been  made  under  1702  to  the  abortive  pro- 
posal of  Edward  Colston  to  make  an  extensive  addition  to 
the  endowments  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital.  After  long 
meditation,  Colston,  in  March,  1706,  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Merchants'  Society,  stating  that  although  his  oflFer  to 
provide  for  fifty  boys  had  been  "  hardly  censured,  even  by 
some  of  the  magistrates,"  yet  he  had  not  abandoned  his 
design.  Some  thoughts  had  occurred  to  him  of  bestowing 
the  gift  upon  London,  where  "  I  have  had  my  education  and 
spent  good  part  of  my  days ;  "  but  as  he  had  drawn  his  first 


84  THB   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1710. 

breath  in  Bristol,  he  inclined  to  benefit  its  poor,  and  if  the 
Merchants'  Company  would  undertake  the  trust,  he  besought 
their  consideration  of  the  conditions  appended  to  his  letter. 
His  intended  endowment,  he  added,  would  amount  to  £600 
per  annum,  to  provide  food,  clothing,  and  education  for  fifty 
Doys,  at  the  rate  of  £10  each,  and  apprentice  fees  of  £5, 
averaging  £36  yearly ;  the  salary  of  the  master,  etc.,  absorb- 
ing the  balance.  The  company  thankfully  accepted  the 
proposed  trust,  and  soon  afterwards  recommended  the  pur- 
chase, for  £1,600,  of  the  "great  house*'  on  St.  Augustine's 
Back,  which  had  fallen  from  its  ancient  high  estate,  and 
been  converted  into  a  sugar  refinery.  Colston,  by  dint  of 
higgling,  obtained  the  mansion  for  £1,300,  and  the  conver- 
sion to  its  new  purpose  was  begun  in  August,  1707.  In  the 
following  April,  however,  the  founder  informed  the  company 
that  he  had  extended  his  design,  and  that  accommodation 
must  be  provided  for  one  hundred  boys.  He  had  been 
already  told  that  the  yearly  outlay  necessary  for  carrying 
on  the  school  would  not  be  less  than  £860,  and  estates  valued 
at  £18,000  had  been  secured  to  meet  the  charge.  Further 
property  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees  to  defray 
the  additional  expense,  involving  an  outlay  of,  probably, 
nearly  £10,000,  the  gross  income  being  increased  to  £1,319. 
To  complete  his  munificent  purpose,  Colston  acquainted  the 
Merchants'  Society  in  April,  1710,  that  he  should  furnish 
the  first  hundred  boys  "each  with  a  suit  of  clothes,  cap, 
band,  shirt,  stockings,  shoes,  buckles,  and  porringer — one  of 
each.  Also  brewing  utensils,  barrels,  bedding,  sheets,  towels, 
tablecloths,  notwithstanding  the  Hall  was  bound  to  provide 
the  same  "  under  the  deed  of  settlement.  Amongst  other 
stipulations  of  that  document  it  was  provided  that  any 
scholar  who  should  be  taken  to  a  dissenting  chapel  by  his 
parents  should  be  expelled,  and  that  no  boy  should  be 
apprenticed  to  a  Dissenter.  Colston  nominated  the  first 
batch  of  scholars,  but,  as  he  was  residing  at  Mortlake,  the 
selection  must  have  been  made  by  his  friends.  The  school 
was  opened  in  July,  1710,  when  a  special  service  took  place 
in  the  cathedral.  From  an  entry  in  St.  Werburgh's  parish 
accounts  about  this  time,  of  a  payment  to  the  ringers  when 
*'  Mr.  Colston  came  to  Bristol,"  he  was  probably  present  on 
the  occasion.  Amongst  the  Treasury  Papers  in  the  Record 
Office  is  a  memorial  from  Colston,  presented  soon  after  this 
date,  stating  that  he  had  formerly  [in  1691]  endowed  a 
hospital  [on  St.  Michael's  Hill]  for  24  poor  persons,  and  now 
had  provided  for  the  training  of  100  poor  boys,  and  praying 


1710.]  IN   THE    EIGHTBBNTH   CENTURY.  85 

that  the  two  charities  might  be  exempted  in  the  Land  Tax 
Bill  from  the  duty  of  4^.  in  the  pound.  The  answer  is  not 
recorded. 

The  following  order  was  addressed  to  the  civic  chamber- 
lain by  the  mayor  and  aldermen  on  the  6th  July,  1710 : — 
"  The  use  of  piques  in  the  citty  train-band  being  laid  aside, 
you  are  hereby  directed  to  provide  three  new  musquets  with 
suitable  accoutrement  for  the  [six]  men  appointed  for  the 
citty."  The  muskets  cost  £1  14«.  6d.,  and  the  "catouch 
boxes,  &c.,"  10s.  6d.  The  annual  militia  muster  took  place 
soon  afterwards,  when  the  six  men  who  "  appeared  in  arms '' 
for  the  Corporation  were  paid  12s,  for  their  day's  work,  and 
wine  was  drunk  to  the  value  of  £3  12s.  6d. 

The  fit  of  High  Church  enthusiasm  provoked  by  Dr. 
Sacheverell  had  at  this  time  reached  fever  point,  and  the 
Grovemment  seized  the  opportunity  to  dissolve  Parliament. 
The  Bristol  Tories,  turning  to  advantage  the  great  popularity 
of  Colston,  appealed  to  him  to  come  forward  as  their  can- 
didate, and  though  he  declined  the  honour  on  account  of 
his  age  (74  years),  it  was  nevertheless  determined  to  nomi- 
nate him  in  conjunction  with  Captain  Joseph  Earle,  who 
was  supposed  to  entertain  kindred  opinions.  The  result  was 
disastrous  to  the  previous  members.  Sir  William  Daines  and 
Colonel  Yate,  who  offered  themselves  for  re-election.  After 
a  four  days*  poll  in  October,  says  the  Bristol  Post  Boy,  Mr. 
Colston  was  returned  by  a  majority  of  **near  a  thousand 
voices,  and  Captain  Earle  by  six  hundred."  [The  actual 
numbers,  according  to  the  local  record  of  Edmund  Tucker, 
a  High  Church  apothecary,  were  as  follows : — Colston,  1785 ; 
Earle,  1627 ;  Daines,  940 ;  Yate,  744.  Tucker  adds  that  the 
Quaker  electors  were  excluded,  because  they  refused  to  take 
the  oath  of  abjuration,  and  that  the  mayor,  aldermen  and 
councillors,  "  to  their  shame,  stiffly  opposed "  the  philan- 
thropist.] The  hazy  newspaper  reporter  goes  on  to  speak  of 
the  joy  manifested  "  when  they  carried  their  member  that 
was  present  along  the  city  with  the  miter  and  streamers 
before  him,  the  whole  city  being  illuminated."  Earle  was 
a  resident  in  Bristol,  and  Mr.  Colston  had  apparently  not 
arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  celebration.  He  reached 
the  city,  however,  on  or  before  the  2nd  November,  his  birth- 
day, when  a  dinner  was  held  to  commemorate  the  triumph, 
at  which  he  presided.  His  leading  supporters  seized  the 
opportunity  to  found  an  association  styled  the  Loyal  Society, 
and  the  birthday  dinners  were  continued  by  them  (at 
Colston's  School)  until  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  the  Duke 


86  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1710. 

of  Beaufort  presiding  in  1711  and  1713;  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  Mr.  Colston  ever  revisited  the  city.  An  un- 
pleasant feature  of  his  character  was  brought  into  promi- 
nence by  this  election.  Having  assisted  in  founding  a  school 
in  Temple  parish,  he  appears  to  have  thought  himself  en- 
titled to  the  political  subserviency  of  the  vicar.  Mr.  Bedford, 
however,  was  a  Whig,  and  a  Low  Churchman.  He  had 
supported  Whig  candidates  for  Gloucestershii'e  at  a  previous 
contest;  he  supported  them  again  in  1710;  and,  vhat  was 
worse,  he  did  not  vote  for  the  High  Church  a  nd;  lates  in 
Bristol.  Although  the  vicar  had  previously  ic  uainted 
Colston  with  his  intentions,  the  latter  was  deeply  ^  Jfended, 
and  wrote  to  the  trustees  of  Temple  school  to  denounce  Mr. 
Bedford's  conduct  as  a  "  scandal "  on  the  part  of  "  no  true 
son  of  the  Church,''  adding  that  he  should  decline  all  further 
correspondence  with  this  "  favourer  of  fanaticism."  Colston's 
biographer  is  driven  to  confess  that  "  his  antipathy  to  dissent 
approached  the  confines  of  bigotry,"  but  it  would  appear 
that  Low  Churchmen  were  as  obnoxious  to  him  as  Noncon- 
formists. In  1712  the  Corporation  forwarded  him  a  present 
of  sherry,  16  gallons  of  which  cost  7.v.  4d.,  and  21  gallons 
more  &.,  per  gallon. 

It  was  probably  to  the  extreme  bitterness  of  party  feeling 
in  Queen  Anne's  reign  that  the  unwillingness  of  Bristolians 
to  accept  or  retain  municipal  honours  must  be  attributed. 
In  the  summer  of  1707  four  common  councillors  prayed 
liberty  to  resign  their  offices,  while  it  was  officially  reported 
that  several  other  members  never  attended,  and  that  :ome 
who  had  been  elected  had  never  taken  their  seats.  A  few 
weeks  later  it  was  announced  that  Richard  Leversedge, 
elected  in  1706,  and  Thomas  Hungerford,  more  recently 
chosen,  had  refused  either  to  enter  the  Council  or  to  pay 
the  accustomed  fine  of  £200.  Some  irregularity  in  the 
previous  proceedings  having  been  detected,  the  Chamber, 
m  May,  1708,  re-elected  them,  with  just  as  little  success.  A 
committee  was  next  appointed  to  devise  a  remedy,  and  upon 
its  recommendation  the  Council  resolved  to  apply  ior  a  new 
Charter,  giving  new  and  stringent  powers  for  dealing  with 
refractory  citizens.  After  much  secret  negotiation  between 
the  Corporation  and  the  Government,  the  sanction  of  the 
Queen  to  the  coveted  document  was  granted  in  July,  1710. 
The  charter  confirmed  all  the  privileges  conceded  in  previous 
reigns,  ordered  that  the  seven  seats  then  vacant  in  the 
Chamber,  through  the  "  contumacious  refusal "  of  certain 
burgesses  to  take  the  oaths,  should  be  filled  by  fresh  elections, 


1710-11.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  87 

and  gave  further  powers  to  enforce  penalties  from  defaulters. 
Up  to  this  time  the  mayors  of  Bristol  had  been  required, 
soon  after  election,  to  proceed  to  London  to  take  the  cus- 
tomary oaths  before  the  judges.  This  irksome  condition 
was  now  abolished,  and  the  Crown  surrendered  its  power  to 
remove  any  member  of  the  Corporation.  The  Common 
Council,  after  expressing  its  gratitude  for  the  "  great  grace 
of  her  Majesty,"  bestowed  ample  largesses  on  the  inter- 
mediary agents  concerned  in  the  transaction.  Fifty  guineas 
were  voted  for  the  purchase  of  a  pair  of  coach  horses  for  Sir 
Robert  Eyre,  the  recorder  (but  preferring  "  your  excellent 
sherry  "  he  received  a  present  of  about  sixty  dozen) ;  twelve 
dozen  of  the  "very  best  sherry'^  were  ordered  to  be  sent  to 
the  Marquis  of  Dorchester,  an  equal  quantity  of  "  the  best " 
to  the  Lord  Chancellor  (Cowper),  and  as  mucn  more  (but  not 
*^  best ")  to  the  Attorney  General.  A  butt  of  the  same  liquor 
was  forwarded  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Lord  High  Steward 
of  the  city ;  while  Mr.  Town  Clerk  Eomsey  and  Henry  Yate, 
a  lawyer,  received  upwards  of  £450  between  them  for  their 
fees,  expenses,  and  trouble.  The  fines  for  non-acceptance 
of  the  office  of  mayor,  sheriff,  or  councillor  were  fixed  at 
£400,  £300,  and  £200  respectively,  but  with  an  exemption 
for  any  person  making  oath  of  being  worth  less  than  £2,000. 
Elections  to  fill  the  vacant  seats  followed,  and  Messrs.  Lever- 
sedge  and  Hungerford  were  for  a  third  time  chosen.  Urging 
conscientious  scruples  in  reference  to  the  oaths,  they  re- 
mained as  impracticable  as  before.  In  September,  1711,  the 
mayor  acquainted  the  Chamber  that  he  had  caused  them  to 
be  arrested,  "of  which  the  House  approved,''  but  their  tem- 
porary detention  was  fruitless.  A  lengthy  litigation  followed, 
and  in  July,  1717,  after  judgment  had  been  obtained  against 
Hungerford,  and  execution  levied,  he  paid  £240,  the  fine 
and  costs.  Leversedge  held  out  until  1721,  when  he  paid 
the  fine  of  £200,  but  prayed  for  a  reduction  of  the  penalty, 
asserting  that  his  refusal  to  be  sworn  had  arisen  from  "  a 
rash  vow.''  The  Council,  satisfied  with  its  victory,  returned 
him  £60,  "  as  a  gift,"  towards  paying  his  expenses. 

Sir  Robert  Atkyns,  whilst  compiling  his  History  of 
Gloucestershire,  obtained  statistics  from  Clifton  in  reference 
to  the  population.  He  was  informed  that  the  number  of 
births  in  1710  was  12,  and  that  the  inhabitants  were  esti- 
mated at  460.  Probably  about  five-sixths  of  the  parishioners 
resided  on  the  low  ground  near  the  Avon. 

The  poor  being  again  plunged  in  deep  distress  by  the 
scarcity  of  food  and  the  severity  of  the  weather,  the  Council, 


88  THB   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1711. 

in  February,  1711,  voted  £100,  and  forthwith  privately  sub- 
scribed £2,600  more,  towards  the  relief  of  the  sufferers — an 
extraordinary  act  of  munificence,  having  regard  to  the 
average  mercantile  incomes  of  that  generation. 

The  following  curious  account  was  paid  by  the  city 
chamberlain  on  the  17th  February,  1711: — "John  Carter, 
Dr.  to  Joseph  Bates.  For  two  months  and  three  weeks 
meat,  drink,  washing  and  lodging  at  2«.  4d.  per  week, 
£1  bs,  8rf."  "Why  the  note  was  paid  by  the  Corporation 
does  not  appear.  Bates  was  keeper  of  Bridewell,  and  his 
cheaply  provided  guest  may  have  been  maintained  to  give 
evidence  in  some  case  tried  at  the  quarter  sessions.  Other 
items  in  the  civic  accounts  show  the  then  low  cost  of  living. 
On  one  occasion  a  man,  his  wife,  and  a  child,  having  arrived 
with  a  magisterial  "  pass "  on  their  way  to  Ireland,  and 
being  detained  for  seven  weeks  by  contrary  winds,  were 
lodged  and  boarded  for  bs,  8d,  per  week  at  the  expense  of 
the  Corporation. 

Owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  streets,  the  civic  officials 
kept  a  sharp  eye  on  attempted  encroachments.  In  May, 
1711,  a  man  who  had  built  a  house  in  Broad  Street  was 
found  to  have  appropriated  twenty-two  inches  of  the  road- 
waj*",  and  a  similar  offence  had  been  committed  in  Corn 
Street.  The  Council  gave  orders  that  the  "  purprestures  " 
should  be  removed  and  the  offenders  indicted.  In  February, 
1716,  the  nuisance  created  by  the  vegetable  markets  in  the 
central  streets  having  become  intolerable,  the  dealers  in 
"  garden  stuff"  were  directed  to  migrate  to  Temple  Street 
and  Broadmead,  a  peremptory  order  being  issued  against 
the  sale  of  such  commodities  in  the  principal  thoroughfares. 
Another  step  in  the  same  direction  was  taken  in  1717,  when 
the  fish  market,  held  in  the  middle  of  High  Street,  was 
removed  to  the  Quay,  near  St.  Stephen's  Church.  To  make 
way  for  it,  "  the  old  Conduit  was  taken  down,  and  a  new 
one  of  a  lesser  bulk  erected,  somewhat  nearer  to  the  Aven  " 
(Tucker's  Annals). 

The  death  of  Dr.  John  Hall,  bishop  of  Bristol,  in  1711, 
enabled  the  Government  to  provide  in  an  odd  way  for  a 
retiring  diplomatist,  John  Robinson,  D.D.,  who  had  been 
the  Englisn  envoy  in  Sweden  for  twenty-six  years,  being 
appointed  to  the  vacancy.  The  new  head  of  the  diocese 
entered  the  city  on  the  15th  June,  "  being  accompanied 
from  Wells  with  severall  hundred  horse,  near  thirty  clergy- 
men, and  many  coaches  with  the  great  men  of  our  citty 
therein  "  (Tucker's  MS.).     The  new  bishop  forthwith  gave 


1711.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  '  89 

orders  for  a  series  of  confirmation  services,  but  was  soon 
recalled  to  his  old  profession,  and  despatched  to  the  con- 
tinent to  negotiate  peace  with  France.  A  curious  Runic 
inscription,  placed  in  the  Cathedral  by  Bishop  Robinson,  is 
the  only  local  souvenir  of  his  brief  episcopate. 

The  importance  of  the  trade  between  Bristol  and  the 
West  Indies  has  been  already  indicated.  It  had  largely 
increased  since  the  beginning  of  the  century,  through  the 
abolition,  in  1698,  of  the  monopoly  previously  enjoyed  by 
the  African  Company — a  handful  of  London  capitalists — of 
the  trade  with  Africa.  Bristol  merchants,  who  had  long 
complained  of  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  the  slave  trade, 
lost  no  time  in  taking  advantage  of  this  new  opening  for 
commerce.  Cargoes  of  goods  suitable  for  bartering  with  the 
native  slave  dealers  were  made  up  in  Bristol,  where  many 
of  the  articles  soon  began  to  be  manufactured  ;  the  laden 
ships  sailed  direct  to  Africa,  where  the  merchandise  was 
exchanged  for  human  beings  ;  the  latter  were  transported 
to  the  West  India  Islands;  and  the  vessels  finally  returned 
with  a  cargo  of  tropical  commodities.  In  1709  the  number 
of  Bristol  ships  engaged  in  this  trade  was  no  less  than  fifty- 
seven.  The  impulse  given  to  local  trade  was  proportionate 
to  the  vast  profits  earned  by  the  adventurers ;  and  the  dis- 
covery, in  1711,  that  the  African  Company  were  insidiously 
striving  to  secure  a  revival  of  their  old  monopoly  excited 
dismay  and  wrath  in  local  circles.  The  Corporation  and 
the  Merchants'  Society  took  immediate  steps  to  defend  the 
interests  of  the  city.  Deputations  were  sent  to  Westmin- 
ster to  urge  the  advantages  of  freedom  of  trade,  and  the 
obnoxious  scheme  was  defeated.  Its  baffled  promoters 
renewed  their  efforts  in  the  two  following  sessions,  but  were 
as  pertinaciously  opposed  by  Bristol  and  the  other  provin- 
cial ports.  A  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  forwarded 
by  the  Council  in  1713,  is  now  amusing  for  the  frankness  of 
its  statements,  and  for  the  contrast  they  present  with  the 
Chamber's  untruthful  excuses  for  refusing  to  succour  the 
German  refugees  in  1709.  The  Corporation  alleged  that 
the  subsistence  of  Bristolians  chiefly  depended  on  their 
West  India  and  African  trade,  which  employed  great  num- 
bers in  shipyards  and  in  "  manufactures  of  wool,  iron,  tin, 
"copper,  brass,  &c.,  a  considerable  part  whereof  is  exported 
to  Africa  for  buying  of  negroes."  Commerce  with  Africa 
and  America  being  thus  "  the  great  support  of  our  people 
at  home,  and  foundation  of  our  trade  abroad,"  the  Chamber 
prayed  that  no  favoured   company   should   be  allowed  to 


90  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1711. 

exclude  the  rest  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  from  the  African 
coast.  A  similar  petition  was  forwarded  by  the  Merchant 
Venturers,  who  declared  that  they  had  many  ships  suitable 
only  for  the  African  trade,  and  would  be  ruined  if  excluded 
from  it.  The  would-be  monopolists,  after  three  rebuffs, 
temporarily  abandoned  the  field.  The  Council  subscribed 
£100  towards  the  expenses  of  the  first  year's  opposition,  and 
Mr.  John  Day,  who  had  remained  on  guard  in  London 
during  the  two  following  sessions,  received  £293  from  the 
Corporation  and  others  for  his  services.  In  1720  the  South 
Sea  Company,  when  at  the  height  of  its  popularity,  made  a 
fresh  attempt  to  secure  a  monopoly  of  the  African  trade, 
much  to  the  exasperation  of  Bristol  merchants.  The 
Council  alone  spent  £140  in  baffling  this  attack,  and  on  the 
bursting  of  the  gigantic  bubble,  the  Chamber  addressed  the 
House  of  Commons,  praising  its  diligence  '*  in  bringing  to 
condign  punishment  those  voracious  robbers,  the  mismana- 
gers  of  South  Sea  stock,"  and  praying  that  its  rigour  might 
not  be  slackened  until  they  had  met  with  their  deserts.  In 
1726,  and  in  successive  sessions  until  1731,  the  African 
Company  made  renewed  but  fruitless  efforts  to  deprive  the 
provincial  ports  of  their  share  in  a  profitable  trade.  The 
cost  incurred  by  Bristol  in  defeating  the  selfish  manoeuvrers 
was  little  short  of  £2,000,  nearly  £900  of  which  amount 
(including  the  cost  of  about  200  gallons  of  wine  sent  up  to 
the  civic  delegates)  were  defrayed  by  the  Corporation.  In 
a  pecuniary  point  of  view  the  money  was  profitably  laid 
out.  The  African  Company  abandoned  the  transport  of 
slaves,  contenting  itself  with  a  traffic  in  ivory  and  gold 
dust,  and  the  triangular  voyages  of  the  Bristol  ships  greatly 
increased  in  number  and  yielded  rich  returns. 

An  illustration  of  the  peculiar  customs  of  the  age  in 
reference  to  criminals  occurs  in  the  minutes  of  the  Council 
in  September,  1711.  A  woman  had  been  condemned  to 
death  for  a  felony  in  the  previous  year;  but  the  under- 
sheriff,  at  the  instance  of  the  magistrates,  had  obtained  the 
grant  of  a  pardon,  at  a  cost  of  six  guineas,  and  applied  to 
the  Chamber  to  be  refunded.  The  demand  was  conceded 
with  reluctance,  a  resolution  being  passed  "  that  no  pardons 
be  sued  out  for  the  future  at  the  city's  charge  without  the 
previous  direction  of  this  House."  The  order,  like  many 
other  civic  orders,  soon  became  obsolete.  On  the  16th  Sep- 
tember, 1721,  the  Council  resolved  as  follows: — "There 
being  now  four  prisoners  in  Newgate  who  have  layne  under 
sentence  of  death  for  several  years,  being  reprieved  by  the 


1711.]  IN   TBE   SIOHTEKKTH   CENTURY.  91 

magistrates,  and  they  having  by  the  mediation  of  the 
Recorder  been  inserted  in  the  Western  Circuit  Pardon,  for 
the  doing  whereof  the  Clerk  of  Assize  claymed  an  expense 
of  foar  guineas  per  head,  it  is  ordered  that  sixteen  guineas 
be  paid."  In  the  following  year  the  same  official  was 
granted  fifteen  guineas  for  the  pardons  (obtained  "without 
the  order  of  this  House ")  of  "  eight  or  more "  prisoners 
lying  under  sentence  of  death.  This  order  was  followed  by 
a  resolution  indicating  that  ladies  occasionally  interested 
themselves  in  the  fate  of  criminals  : — "  Several  condemned 
persons  having  been  begged  off  from  execution  by  some 
persons  of  this  body  or  their  wives  or  relations,  and  after- 
wards the  burthen  of  the  expense  in  procuring  the  pardon 
has  been  upon  the  city  :  it  is  ordered  that  for  the  future 
such  person  who  shall  sue  for  any  criminaPs  pardon  shall 
at  his  own  expense  sue  out  the  same."  Nevertheless,  in 
1727,  the  clerk  of  assize  was  paid  £33  for  "  incerting  the 
condemned  prisoners  in  the  Western  Circuit  Pardon ;  "  and 
in  1740,  it  being  intimated  that  Henry  Fane,  Esq.,  had 
taken  trouble  to  obtain  several  pardons,  but  had  received  no 
acknowledgment,  he  was  voted  '*  a  present  of  a  gross  of  sherry 
as  a  compliment."  What  seems  still  more  strange  to 
modem  eyes,  there  is  a  record  in  the  minutes  that  on  one 
occasion  the  friends  of  a  condemned  criminal,  being  willing 
to  purchase  a  pardon,  were  ordered  to  give  security  for 
jglOb  that  they  would  transport  the  culprit ;  while  in  another 
case  (April,  1711)  a  man  charged  with  felony,  but  whose 
indictment  had  been  rejected  by  the  grand  jury,  was 
sentenced  by  the  magistrates  to  be  kept  in  gaol  unless  and 
until  his  father  should  give  security  to  transport  him  to  the 
plantations ! 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Merchants'  Society  in  December, 
1711,  a  petition  was  read  from  Charles  Harford,  merchant, 
praying  to  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  body  on  payment 
of  a  fine.  High  Churchmen  being  then  overflowing  with 
intolerance,  a  resolution  was  passed  rejecting  the  appeal,  on 
the  ground  that  Mr.  Harford  was  a  Quaker,  and  a  further 
resolution  was  passed  that  "  in  future  no  professed  Quaker 
should  be  admitted  by  fine  into  the  freedom  of  the  Hall." 

The  churchwardens  of  All  Saints'  became  dissatisfied 
about  this  period  with  the  low  Norman  tower  of  the  church, 
and  resolved  to  substitute  it  by  something  more  "grace- 
ful." The  old  tower  was  therefore  destroyed  ;  but  a  bitter 
controversy  arose  amongst  the  admirers  of  "jarring 
schemes  "  of  rival  architects,  and  the  hideous  design  carried 


92  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1711-12. 

out  was  not  completed  until  1717.  The  expenditure  was 
about  £600,  of  which  Mr.  Colston  gave  £260.  Subse- 
quently other  "renovations'^  were  proposed,  and,  the 
churchwardens  having  stated  that  £800  would  be  needed, 
the  Corporation  gave  £100.  The  dome  surmounting  the 
new  tower  happily  became  ruinous  in  less  than  a  century, 
and  was  replaced  by  the  existing  anomaly. 

A  considerable  extension  of  the  eastern  suburb  of  the 
city  took  place  about  this  time  by  the  construction  of  Wade 
Street,  Great  George  and  Great  Anne  Streets,  etc.  The 
owners  of  the  ground,  Nathaniel  Wade  and  Abraham 
Hooke,  built  a  bridge  in  1711  over  the  Froom,  at  Wade 
Street,  for  the  development  of  the  estate;  and  as  Wade, 
though  holding  an  important  office  under  the  Corporation, 
was  generally  unpopular  from  his  abject  confessions  to 
James  II.,  after  being  a  leader  in  the  Monmouth  rebellion, 
the  construction  was  universally  known  as  Traitor's  Bridge, 
and  is  even  so  designated  in  the  minutes  of  the  Common 
Council. 

Early  in  1712,  the  incumbents  of  the  city  parishes,  en- 
couraged by  the  exuberant  High  Church  principles  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  resolved  on  seeking  the  help  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  improvement  of  their  incomes.  Before  nar- 
rating the  issue,  it  may  be  interesting  to  show  how  pitiful 
those  incomes  were.  Amongst  Archbishop  Sancroft's  MSS. 
is  a  paper  in  the  prelate's  handwriting,  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  the  state  of  the  Bristol  clergy  just  before  the 
Revolution  had  given  him  some  concern.  As  his  account  of 
the  livings  has  never  been  printed,  and  as  little  had  occurred 
between  Sancroft's  deprivation  and  1712  to  improve  the 
stipends,  the  document  is  here  introduced,  omitting  the 
names  of  the  incumbents,  four  of  whom  held  two  livings 
each : — 

The  parish  Churches  in  Bristol  with  their  present  certain  Endowment. 
R.  of  S.  Werburg.    A  House  worth  £10  per  ann.    Gift  sermons  £10  p.  a. 
K.  of  S.  Stephens.     A  House  worth  £10  per  ann.    Gift  sermons  £10  p.  a. 
V.  of  All  Saints.    A  House  worth  £10  per  ann.    Gift  sermons  £12  p.  a. 
V.  of  St.  Augustins.     A  House  worth  £4  per  an.     Gift  sermons  00. 
V.  of  St.  Nicolas.     No  House.     [Gift  sermons  about  £13.] 
V.  of  St.  Leonards.    House  worth  £2  per  ann.    Tithe... 
V.  of  St.  Philip  and  Jacob.    House  worth  £5  per.  an. 
R.  of  St.  Peters.    House  worth 

V.  of  H.  Cross  als.  Temple.     House  worth  £6  per  an.     Gift  sermons  £10 
per  an. 

^-  °'  I:  t.^^^''  "•}«»* »™  ^  pe^  -• 

R.  of  Xt.  Church.    No  House.    Gift  sermons... 

R.  of  St.  MichaeL    House  worth  £6  per  an.    Tithe... 


1712.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  93 

Impr.  of  S.  James.    House  worth  £8  per  an.    Gift  sermons  £2  10s.  per  an. 

R.  of  S.  Ewens.    No  House. 

Capella  S.  Marie  BedcliiF.    A  House.    Gift  sermons... 

Capella  8.  Thomse.    Gift  sermons  £8  per  an. 

B.  of  S.  Mary  port.    A  House. 

The  parish  Churches  nigh  Bristol  in  Gloucestershire. 
Curacy  of  Clifton.    Ye  Impropriator  (Major  Hodges)  allows  £10  per  an. 

Westbury.    Sr.  Fr.  Fane  Impr.  allows  £10  per  an.  \ 

V.  of  Almondbury.    Ye  Bp.  Patron  and  Impr.  / 

worth  together  £50  p.  a. 
V.  of  Henbury,  w.  Cap.  Northwick  and  Aust.    Val.  £100. 
Curacy  of  Stapleton.    Impr.  Mr.  Walker.    Val.  £15. 
Curacy  of  Horvill.    Bp.  Impropr.     Val.  £4. 
Curacy  of  Abbots  Leigh.    Impr.  Mr.  Horton,  Canon  of  Sarura.    Val.  £11. 

The  clergy,  in  their  published  "  Apology  "  for  taking  ac- 
tion, alleged  that,  by  the  confession  of  their  opponents,  they 
"  had  no  legal  claim  to  anything,  and  that  their  subsistence 
depended  entirely  upon  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the 
people,"  which  were  collected  in  some  parishes  by  the 
ministers  and  churchwardens,  .and  in  others  by  the  ministers 
alone,  who  went  "  from  house  to  house  in  order  to  provoke 
the  people's  bounty."  That  "  bounty  "  seems  to  have  been 
grudgingly  bestowed.  A  physician  or  a  barrister,  says  the 
writer,  is  not  considered  overpaid  by  a  guinea  for  a  single 
consultation ;  "  but  five  shillings,  by  some  who  esteem  them- 
selves no  common  parishioners,  shall  be  thought  reward 
great  enough  not  only  for  a  single  visit  of  a  divine,  but  his 
sermons,  his  attendance,  advise,  throughout  the  whole  year." 
It  was  further  asserted  that  the  income  of  some  livings  did 
not  reach  "  above  £30  a  year,  if  that; "  the  medium  value 
being  set  down  at  from  £70  to  £80,  while  that  of  "  the 
largest  and  best  parishes,  where  two  sermons  were  preached 
every  Sunday,"  did  not  exceed  £100.  During  the  Common- 
wealth, the  Presbyterian  clergy  obtained  a  local  Act  for 
their  better  maintenance,  by  which  a  rate  of  Is,  6rf.  in  the 
pound  was  assessed  on  houses  and  warehouses,  besides  6.s'.  in 
the  pound  levied  on  tradesmen's  stocks.  Taking  advantage 
of  a  precedent  which  many  Dissenters  would  gladly  have 
forgotten,  the  Bill  produced  by  the  clergy  proposed  to  levy 
£1,500  a  year  on  personal  estates,  to  be  collected  by  the 

Earish  ofl&cers.  The  sum  intended  to  be  raised  in  St.  James's, 
t.  Stephen's,  St.  Nicholas's,  St.  Philip's,  and  St.  Michael's, 
where  curates  were  kept,  was  £160  per  parish,  in  Temple 
£110,  and  in  All  Saints'  £100;  smaller  amounts  being  fixed 
for  the  ten  remaining  parishes,  where  only  one  sermon  was 
preached  on  Sundays.  The  scheme  was  received  with  dis- 
approbation, and  the  Common  Council  lost  no  time  in  de- 


94  THE   ANNALS   09   BRISTOL  [1712. 

daring  that  it  would  strenuously  oppose  the  Bill  in  Parlia- 
ment. The  clergy,  disheartened  by  the  storm  aroused  in 
the  city,  abandoned  the  field. 

The  enactment  of  the  Occasional  Conformity  Act  by  the 
High  Church  majority  in  Parliament  added  fresh  fuel  to  the 
excitement  of  the  citizens  in  the  early  months  of  1712.  The 
statute,  which  inflicted  a  fine  of  £40  on  any  member  of  a 
Corporation  who  attended  service  in  a  **  conventicle,"  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  conscientious  Dissenters  to  accept  or 
retain  civic  distinctions,  and  three  leading  members  of  the 
Council,  Morgan  Smith,  Abraham  Hooke,  and  Onesiphorns 
Tyndall  (all  ex-sheriffs)  petitioned  that  they  might  be  re- 
lieved of  the  ofiice  of  counsellor  without  payment  of  a  fine. 
Their  request  was  complied  with  on  the  22nd  March  by  a 
unanimous  vote.  Mr.  Tyndall  was  treasurer  of  L3win3 
Mead  congregation  in  1704.  The  Act  which  caused  this 
secession  was  repealed  a  few  years  later. 

Whilst  the  Corporation  was  deliberating  on  the  case  of  the 
above  aggrieved  Dissenters,  an  extraordinary  scene  was 
taking  place  in  the  Cathedral.  The  records  of  the  Consis- 
tory Court  show  that  Ann  Roberts,  of  St.  Augustine's,  had 
been  convicted  of  having  committed  incest  with  her  father, 
and  that  by  the  sentence  of  the  chancellor  she  was  ordered 
to  repair  to  the  cathedral  at  the  hour  of  morning  prayer  on 
the  22nd  March,  and  to  stand  in  the  choir  before  the  minister 
and  congregation,  clad  in  a  white  sheet  and  bearing  a  white 
wand,  during  the  whole  of  the  service,  and  was  further,  after 
the  second  lesson,  to  make  humble  confession  of,  and  profess 
penitence  for,  her  crime.  A  certificate  that  the  sentence  had 
been  carried  out  was  signed  by  one  of  the  minor  canons. 

In  the  session  of  161)9-1700  a  petition  was  presented  to 
Parliament  by  the  corporation  of  Bath  praying  for  powers 
to  make  the  Avon  navigable  to  that  city,  one  of  the  chief 
advantages  of  which  work,  it  was  urged,  would  be  to  "  bring 
down  the  dearness  of  provisions  complained  of  by  all  per- 
sons who  frequent  the  Bath.''  Vehement  pet-itions  against 
the  scheme  were  addressed  to  the  House  of  Commons  by  the 
Quarter  Sessions  Court  of  Somerset  and  the  gentry,  farmers, 
and  traders  of  the  neighbourhood,  who  pleaded  that  they 
would  be  impoverished  by  the  competition  of  commodities 
brought  in  by  cheap  water  carriage.  The  opposition  be- 
came so  formidable  that  the  Bill  was  withdrawn.  Early  in 
1712  the  corporation  of  Bath  renewed  their  application, 
when  it  was  opposed  with  as  much  obstinacy  as  before. 
Some  of  the  petitioners  declared  that  the  carrying  trade  of 


1712.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CBNTUBY.  95 

the  district  was  threatened  by  the  Bill  with  utter  ruin ; 
others,  chiefly  landed  gentry,  affirmed  that  the  import  of 
food  "  from  Wales  and  other  parts  where  the  value  of  lands 
are  low  "  would  be  so  disastrous  that  they  would  be  unable 
to  pay  their  taxes.  The  grand  jury  at  Wilts  Assizes  were 
amongst  the  most  urgent  suitors  for  the  rejection  of  the 
Bill,  as  were  the  inhabitants  of  Marshfield,  who  affirmed 
that  their  malt  trade  would  be  destroyed  if  it  had  to  compete 
with  distant  rivals.  The  measure,  neverfcheless,  became  law, 
but  it  remained  a  dead  letter  for  several  years.  In  March, 
1725,  a  scheme  for  carrying  out  the  work  having  been  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  John  Hobbs,  a  Bristol  timber  merchant,  the 
corporation  of  Bath  transferred  the  powers  of  the  Act  to 
thirty-two  individuals,  who  undertook  to  open  the  navigation 
"  at  the  equal  cost  of  each  copartner."  The  thirty-two  share- 
holders included  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  General  Wade,  John 
Codrington,  of  Wraxall,  Ralph  Allen,  of  Bath,  and  Dr.  John 
Lane,  Thomas  Tyndale,  James  Hardwick,  and  John  Hobbs, 
of  Bristol  The  navigation  extended  only  from  Bath  to  Han- 
ham,  so  that  the  remainder  of  the  route  was  practicable  only 
when  the  course  of  the  Avon  was  filled  by  the  tide.  The 
works  were  finished  in  December,  1727,  and  on  the  3rd 
January  Lord  Falmouth  proceeded  from  Bristol  to  Bath  by 
water,  "  being  the  first  noble  person  who  used  that  passage.'' 
The  barges  were  towed  by  men,  power  to  construct  a  tow- 
ing path  for  horses  being  wanting  until  a  much  later  period. 
A  Bath  correspondent  of  the  Gloucester  Journal,  writing  on 
the  3rd  November,  1729,  recorded  that  "  Mr.  Hobbes,  mer- 
chant, of  Bristol,  who  was  the  chief  instrument  of  making 
the  river  Avon  navigable  to  this  place,'*  had  just  been  ad- 
mitted a  firee  burgess  of  Bath.  The  above  facts  dispose  of 
the  current  story  that  all  the  credit  of  carrying  out  the 
undertaking  was  due  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort.  The  naviga- 
tion was  long  obnoxious  to  the  Kingswood  colliers,  owing  to 
the  quantity  of  Shropshire  coal  conveyed  to  Bath.  In 
consequence  of  their  violence,  an  Act  of  Parliament  was 
passed,  enacting  that  the  destruction  of  weirs  or  locks  should 
be  punished  with  death.  Nevertheless,  in  November,  1738, 
a  disguised  mob  almost  totally  demolished  the  lock  at  Salt- 
ford,  and  escaped  with  impunity.  The  cost  of  the  naviga- 
tion works  is  not  given  in  any  local  work,  bub  in  1825,  when 
the  first  proposal  was  started  for  a  railway  to  London,  a 
correspondent  of  a  Bristol  journal  asserted  that  less  than 
£160  each  was  contributexi  by  the  thirty-two  original  pro- 
prietors, and  that  one  share  had  recently  sold  for  £4.000. 


96  THE    ANNALS    OF  BRISTOL  [1712. 

The  narrow-minded  trading  theories  of  the  age  are  illus- 
trated by  a  petition  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  in 
1712  by  Aoraham  Elton,  Benjamin  Coole,  and  Edward 
Lloyd,  three  Bristol  merchants,  and  others  representing  the 
brass  manufactories  of  the  kingdom.  The  applicants,  after 
pointing  out  that  their  goods  were  made  by  English  work- 
men, and  composed  of  English  copper  and  calamine,  com- 
plained that  their  foreign  rivals  were  **  encouraged  "  by  the 
existing  laws,  and  prayed  relief.  From  the  subsequent  re- 
port of  a  committee,  it  appears  that  the  encouragement  of 
the  foreigner  consisted  in  his  being  mulcted  with  a  protec- 
tive import  duty  varying  from  £9  10s,  to  £30  per  ton  ;  and 
that  the  petitioners  wanted  this  tax  largely  increased  or 
foreign  entries  prohibited.  It  was  stated  that  21,000  men 
were  employed  in  the  home  trade,  and  that  at  Bristol  the 
two  copper  works  consumed  2,000  tons  of  coal  weekly,  be- 
sides 400  tons  of  fuel  used  at  the  brass  works.  In  opposition 
to  the  petitioners,  a  crowd  of  witnesses  was  brought  forward 
by  persons  interested  in  the  Dutch  brass  trade,  who  repre- 
sented that  the  English-made  goods  were  of  an  inferior 
quality,  and  that  an  increased  duty  on  foreign  brass  would 
ruin  many  home  industries  depending  on  Dutch  markets. 
To  rebut  this  evidence  a  certificate  was  produced  from  the 
braziers  of  Bristol,  asserting  that  the  local  manufacturers  had 
brought  their  products  to  such  perfection  that  satisfactory 
brass  was  now  offered  £20  per  ton  below  former  prices.  A 
proposal  to  considerably  increase  the  foreign  duties  was 
finally  rejected. 

Another  local  petition  of  the  same  year  deserves  a  record. 
It  proceeded  from  Nicholas  Churchman,  master  of  the 
Bristol  Company  of  Tanners,  and  others,  and  set  forth  that 
the  Irish  people,  having  taken  to  purchasing  bark  in 
England,  refused  to  ship  their  raw  hides,  preferring  to 
make  their  leather  at  home,  to  the  great  loss  and  discourage- 
ment of  English  tanners.  As  the  sale  of  bark  caused  all 
the  mischief,  the  petitioners  prayed  that  further  exports 
should  be  prohibited.  A  committee  was  appointed,  but 
without  result. 

The  Rev.  William  Goldwin,  M.A.,  master  of  the  Grammar 
School,  believing  himself  a  poet,  favoured  the  city  in  1712 
with  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  "  A  Poetical  Description  of 
Bristol,"  which  was  published  by  "  Joseph  Penn,  bookseller, 
against  the  Com  Market  in  Wine  Street."  Although  Mr. 
Gold  win's  verses  can  be  qualified  only  as  lamentably  pro- 
saic, they  afford  some  interesting  hints  as  to  the  appearance 


1712.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  97 

■ 

of  the  city  at  the  time  they  were  written.  High  Street, 
which  during  the  Civil  War  had  been  noted  by  a  traveller 
as  a  chief  centre  of  mercers,  silkmen  and  linen  drapers,  was 
still  the  favourite  resort  of  fashionable  customers: — 

Bedeckt  with  gawdy  Shops  on  both  its  Lines. 

And  its  shops  had  glass  windows :— 

.    .    .    Piles  of  Plate  refined  with  Art, 
Befulgent  Bays  through  glassy  Barriers  da^^. 
Here  the  whole  Wardrobe  of  the  female  Dress 
In  wealthy  Folds  a  standing  Camp  possess. 

Temple  Street  also  in  fair  time  could  boast  of  its  splen- 
dours : — 

The  spacious  (!)  Street,  where  London  Wares 

Display  the  tawdry  Pageantry  of  Fairs, 

Temptations  offered  to  the  Virgins  there 

To  choose  a  Marriage-dress  of  modish  Air. 

Observe  the  flippant  Sparks  in  Smartness  nursM, 

With  Fleet  Street  style  and  Ludgate  Langiiag3  vers'd,  &c. 

Mr.  Goldwin  is  severe  upon  the  wares  of  the  Coffee  Houses : — 

Here  wise  Remarkers  on  the  Church  and  State 
O'er  Turkish  Lap  and  smoaky  Whiffs  debate. 
Here  half  shut  Authors  in  Confusion  lye, 
And  kindling  Stuffs  for  Party  Heats  supply. 
Pernicious  Scribblers,  &c. 

The  charms  of  Clifton  were  still  undiscovered.  When 
merchants  had  grown  rich  with  trafficking  in  the  chief  im- 
ports of  the  city : — 

Florentia's  Wines  and  Sherry's  flavoured  Must, 
Jamaicans  Growth  and  Guinea's  Golden-dust, 

they  retired  to  the  healthful  slopes  of  St.  MichaeFs  Hill : — 

Here  wealthy  Cits  discharged  from  worldly  Cares 
Conclude  the  downward  Race  of  falling  Years. 
Here  sickly  Souls  with  broken  Health  repa  ir 
To  suck  the  wholesome  Drafts  of  healing  Air. 

In  other  parts  of  the  city  the  glass-houses  were  a  nuisance : — 

Whose  sootty  Stench  the  Earth  and  Skv  annoys, 
And  Nature's  blooming  Verdure  half  destroys. 

Mr.  Goldwin's  rambling  pen  carries  him  to  Newgate,  where 
he  sees  "  mournful  debtors  weep  in  ghastly  hue  "  in  com- 
pany, with  felons,  both  inhaling  unwholesome  air  in  dun- 
geons, and  both  eking  out  existence  by  the  help  of  a  beg- 
ging box  at  the  gaol  door.     He  goes  to  the  Back,  and  sees 

H 


i 


98  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1712. 

"  cackling  dames  and  feathered  cacklers "  in  the  Welsh 
Market.  He  passes  on  to  Queen  Square,  and  finds  "  gran- 
deur and  neatness  shine  "  in  the  newly  built  Custom  House, 
and  the  "  Praetorian  dignity  "  well  supported  in  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  mayor.  Perhaps  his  most  surprising  discovery, 
to  modern  readers  at  least,  was  "  Florio's  happy  spot,"  the 
Great  Gardens,  in  Temple  parish,  now  black,  dismal,  and 
sordid,  but  then,  he  said,  fragrant  with  jasmin,  roses,  and 
orange  flowers,  and  beauteous  with  fantastically  cut  yew 
and  holl}'^  trees. 

In  1712  a  company  of  adventurous  Bristolians,  of  whom 
the  most  prominent  was  Joshua  Franklyn,  a  merchant, 
resolved  upon  constructing  a  dock  for  the  accommodation 
of  shipping  at  Sea  Mills.  The  vanity  of  human  aspirations 
was  exemplified  in  the  terms  of  the  lease  of  the  required 
land,  which  (by  virtue  of  a  special  Act  of  Parliament)  was 
transferred  to  the  undertakers  by  Edward  Southwell,  of 
Kingsweston,  for  a  term  of  999  years,  at  an  annual  rent 
of  £81.  The  site  adjoined  a  Roman  station,  of  which  some 
vestiges  still  remain,  and  in  the  course  of  excavating  the 
dock  the  workmen  came  across  an  ancient  gateway,  and  a 
quantity  of  coins  of  Nero,  Constantine,  and  Constantius. 
With  the  exception  of  a  dock  at  Liverpool,  commenced  in 
1709,  but  not  finished  until  1717,  the  Sea  Mills  dock  was  the 
first  mercantile  Vasin  constructed  in  England.  The  adven- 
ture was  divided  into  thirty-two  shares,  on  which  upwards 
of  £300  each  are  said  to  have  been  called.  Franklyn  sank 
a  large  part  of  his  fortune  in  the  undertaking.  There 
is  no  record  of  the  opening  of  the  dock.  In  a  financial 
point  of  view,  the  place  was  a  failure  from  the  outset,  the 
necessity  of  transhipping  cargoes  into  barges  overriding  the 
advantage  it  possessed  of  keeping  vessels  afloat  at  low 
water.  The  dock  was  found  useful,  however,  for  the  fitting 
out  of  privateers,  and  the  discharging  of  whaling  ships. 
Eudder,  in  his  History  of  Gloucestershire,  published  in  1779, 
stated  that  the  dock  had  then  been  "  utterly  abandoned 
for  several  years,''  and  that  the  shares  had  only  **  an  ideal 
value.''  One  of  the  latest  attempts  to  turn  the  property 
to  account  was  made  in  January,  1798,  when  the  dock,  with 
its  "  spacious  warehouses "  and  some  adjoining  tenements, 
was  offered  to  be  let. 

Two  ropewalks  with  some  appended  "  tar  houses ''  in 
close  proximity  to  Queen  Square  having  been  much  com- 
plained of,  the  Corporation,  in  August,  1712,  agreed  with 
the  owners  for  the  purchase  of  the  ground,  so  as  to  remove 


1712.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY,  99 

the  nuisances.  One  of  the  roperies  belonged  to  the  Mer- 
chants' Society,  who  refused  to  sell  unless  a  term  of  23 
years  was  added  to  the  68  years'  lease  of  the  Wharfage 
Dues  then  in  their  hands.  To  soften  the  rigour  of  this 
condition,  they  promised  that  "  any  member  of  the  Council 
should  have  liberty  to  make  any  publick  feast  or  entertain- 
ment in  the  Merchants'  Hall."  The  Chamber  agreed  to  the 
conditions,  but  seems  to  have  had  a  somewhat  low  opinion 
of  the  good  faith  of  the  Company,  for  a  strict  order  was 
given  to  the  town  clerk  to  retain  the  new  lease  until  the 
Merchants  had  delivered  the  conveyance  of  the  ropewalk. 
Oddly  enough,  no  complaint  was  raised  against  the  recep- 
tacle for  scavengers'  sweeping,  collected  from  all  the 
central  parishes,  which  was  situated  in  the  rear  of  the 
eastern  side  of  the  square ;  and  it  was  not  until  many  years 
afterwards  that  this  nuisance  was  removed. 

The  members  of  the  Corporation  appear  to  have  had  a 
predilection  for  occasional  sermons,  but  placed  a  low  pecuni- 
ary value  upon  them.  Perhaps  in  consequence  of  a  remon- 
strance, the  Council,  on  the  16th  September,  ordered  "  that 
the  several  ministers  who  have  preached  the  publick 
sermons  att  the  Quarter  Sessions  and  gaole  delivery  lor  this 
year  past  shall  have  added  to  their  usual  allowances  soe 
much  as  shall  make  itt  upp  one  guinea  for  every  sermon, 
and  this  order  to  continue  till  further  order." 

Up  to  this  time,  the  onlv  means  of  communication  between 
the  central  parts  of  the  city  and  College  Green  lay  through 
Christmas  Street  and  Horse  (now  Host)  Street.  In  October, 
1712,  in  compliance  with  a  numerously  signed  petition,  thf 
Chamber  ordered  the  erection  of  a  "  movable  bridge  "  over 
the  Froom,  from  St.  Augustine's  Back  to  the  opposite 
Quay.  The  work  must  have  proceeded  with  great  dehbera- 
tion,  for  the  structure  figures  m  the  corporate  accounts  until 
1718.  The  cost  was  £1,044.  A  lanthorn,  costing  20«.,  wag 
placed  upon  the  bridge  in  May,  1718,  doubtless  to  protect  it 
against  shipping  collisions.  In  April,  1722,  it  was  ordered 
that  no  laden  cart  should  cross  the  bridge,  under  a  penalty 
of  j£l.  In  1738  the  Corporation  bought  another  lanthorn, 
perhaps  for  the  same  place.  The  article  must  have  been  of 
unusual  size,  for  the  glass  sides  cost  46^.,  and  the  frame- 
work £6  lU. 

A  scarce  book  entitled  "An  Account  of  Charity  Schools  in 
Great  Britain,"  published  in  1712,  states  that  there  was  a 
school  upon  the  Quay  at  Bristol,  "endowed  by  Lady 
[Susanna]  Holworthy,  wherein  eight  persons  are  instructed 


100  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1712-13. 

in  the  art  of  navigation."  This  statement,  although  un- 
noticed by  any  local  historian,  is  confirmed  by  the  records 
of  the  Merchants'  Society,  a  subscription  of  £2  having  been 
yearly  paid  by  them  to  the  school,  which  in  1722  was 
removed  to  the  Merchants'  Hall,  an  old  kitchen  having  been 
fitted  up  for  its  accommodation.  In  1738,  Lady  Hoi  worthy's 
bequest,  then  amounting  to  £260,  and  a  gift  of  £100  made 
by  Capt.  John  Price,  R.N.,  were  handed  over  by  the 
Corporation  to  the  Merchants'  Company,  upon  the  latter 
undertaking  to  pay  £20  a  year  for  ever  to  a  master  capable 
of  teaching  navigation. 

Amongst  the  swords  of  state  possessed  by  the  Corporation 
is  a  handsome  weapon  presented  to  the  city  by  John  de 
Wells,  lord  mayor  of  London  in  1431,  and  styled  in  civic 
records  the  Pearl  Sword.  As  no  traces  of  pearls  are  visible 
on  the  scabbard,  a  fiction  has  of  course  been  invented  to 
explain  their  disappearance,  and  the  tradition  of  the  Council 
House  is  that  the  jewels  were  pilfered  by  a  succession  of 
covetous  mayoresses.  A  search  into  a  quantity  of  old 
accounts,  by  the  kind  permission  of  the  treasurer,  has 
exploded  this  fable.  In  May,  1713,  the  sword  was  repaired 
by  a  silversmith  named  Cossley,  who,  after  charging  £17 
for  embroidering  the  scabbard,  and  £10  lis.  3d.  for  gilding 
and  reparations,  acknowledges  the  possession  of  "  279  perls 
of  noe  use,  neither  could  they  be  put  on."  The  Corporation 
assessed  the  value  of  the  pearls  at  £3  12«.,  wliich  Cossley 
allowed. 

Peace  with  France,  arranged  at  Utrecht  by  Dr.  Eobinson, 
Bishop  of  Bristol,  and  others,  was  proclaimed  on  May  12th, 
1713,  at  the  High  Cross,  St.  Peter's  Cross,  Temple  Cross, 
and  other  places,  amidst  formal  demonstrations  of  joy.  The 
treaty,  although  far  from  popular  at  the  time,  contained 
provisions  which  tended  largely  to  the  development  of  local 
commerce.  France  ceded  to  this  country  Newfoundland, 
Nova  Scotia,  Hudson's  Bay,  and  part  of  the  island  of  St. 
Christopher;  but  to  Bristol  merchants  the  most  popular 
feature  of  the  treaty  was  the  "  Assiento  clause,"  by  which 
England  was  granted  the  monopoly  of  supplying  the 
Spanish  colonies  with  slaves.  Bishop  Robinson  was  rewarded 
for  his  labours  by  being  translated  to  the  see  of  London. 

The  expenditure  for  corporate  festivities  in  connection 
with  the  Peace  denotes  a  change  of  taste  in  reference  to 
wine.  The  civic  dignitaries  had  long  regaled  themselves 
exclusively  on  sherry  and  claret ;  and  although  in  1703, 
soon  after  the  outbreak  of  war  with  France,  a  treaty  was 


1713.]  IN   THE    EIOHTKBKTH   CENTUEY.  101 

made  with  Portugal  admitting  her  wines  at  an  exceptionally 
low  rate  of  duty,  the  Corporation  at  first  forsook  claret 
for  Florence  wine,  which  figures  largely  in  the  accounts. 
At  the  above  rejoicings,  however,  the  civic  body  consumed 
21  gallons  of  claret,  11  of  sherry,  and  small  quantities  of 
Canary  and  "  Rhenish,"  while,  instead  of  Florence,  there 
was  a  purchase  of  17  gallons  of  "  red  Alicant,"  costing  6^.  a 
gallon.  In  the  following  year,  on  the  accession  of  George  I., 
Alicant  gave  place  to  Port,  which  is  mentioned  for  the  first 
time,  and  met  with  an  enthusiastic  reception,  the  wine  bill 
on  the  proclamation  day  embracing  63  gallons  of  the  liquor 
at  6«.  4d.,  16  gallons  of  sherry  at  Is,  6d.,  16  gallons  of  claret 
at  10«.,  and  other  red  wine  to  the  value  of  £4  16^.  6d,  The 
relish  of  the  corporate  body  for  the  Portuguese  import  subse- 
quently became  proverbial. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Government  to  follow  up  the 
Peace  with  a  treaty  of  commerce,  by  which  a  system  of 
free  trade  would  have  been  established  between  England 
and  France.  Such  a  scheme,  however,  was  opposed  to  the 
commercial  ideas  of  the  age,  and  many  interests  promptly 
raised  an  agitation.  The  distilling  trade  in  Bristol  was 
especially  loud  in  its  protests.  During  the  war,  the  lack  of 
brandy  was  supplied  by  distillation  from  domestic  produce, 
cider  and  perry  being  made  largely  available.  It  being 
certain  that  *^  apple  brandy  "  would  be  rapidly  supplanted 
by  the  genuine  French  article,  upwards  of  twenty  Bristol 
distillers  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons  for  protection. 
They  produced,  they  said,  a  "good  wholesome  fine  brandy" 
which  answered  every  needful  purpose,  and,  if  only  kept 
long  enough,  was  hardly  distinguishable  from  grape  spirit ; 
but  if  the  latter  came  into  the  field  local  distillation  would 
be  stopped,  the  petitioners  impoverished,  and  good  crops  of 
English  fruit  left  rotting  on  the  ground.  Distillers  from 
malt  and  sugar,  raising  a  similar  outcry,  were  supported  by 
the  West  India  interest.  The  silk  manufacturers  petitioned 
earnestly  against  the  admission  of  French  goods,  while  the 
clothiers  prayed  for  the  "  discouragement  "  (meaning  inter- 
diction) of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  fabrics.  The  agitation 
was  fatal  to  the  Government  Bill.  It  was  found  impracti- 
cable, however,  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  French 
brandy,  which  soon  recovered  its  old  supremacy.  In  the 
Bristol  Newspaper  of  January  27th,  1728,  John  King,  mer- 
chant. Queen  Square,  the  ancestor  of  a  still  eminent  mer- 
cantile family,  announced  that  he  had  "  fine  Nance  Brandy  " 
on  sale  at  Is,  per  gallon  by  the  butt,  or  Is,  Gd.  retedl ;  also 


102  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1713-14. 

good  rum  at  6«.  Qd,  by  the  hogshead,  or  7s.  by  the  single 
gallon. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  September.  Mr.  Colston 
having  retired,  the  Tory  party  nominated  Thomas  Edwards, 
jun.,  who  married  Mary  Hayman,  the  philanthropist's  niece ; 
Colonel  Joseph  Earle  solicited  re-election ;  and  Sir  William 
Daines  endeavoured  to  recover  his  former  seat.  The  polling 
went  on  for  two  days  amidst  perpetual  tumult  and  blood- 
shed ;  rival  mobs,  stimulated  by  unstinted  supplies  of 
liquor,  assailing  not  only  each  other,  but  peaceful  electors. 
Ultimately  the  sheriffs,  dreading  loss  of  life,  closed  the  poll, 
although  less  than  a  fourth  of  the  citizens  had  voted.  The 
numbers  recorded  for  the  candidates  (communicated  by 
the  Rev.  A.  B.  Beaven)  were: — Colonel  Earle,  who  was 
supported  by  both  parties,  666;  Mr.  Edwards^  474;  Sir 
William  Daines,  189.  The  unsuccessful  candidate  petitioned 
against  Edwards  in  the  following  session,  alleging  that  his 
return  (which  was  made  only  by  one  sheriff,  the  other 
admitting  the  illegality  of  the  proceedings)  was  due  to 
rioting  and  intimidation  on  the  part  of  a  hired  multitude 
"  who  were  not  inhabitants,"  meaning,  doubtless,  merce- 
naries from  "  outside  the  Gate.''  The  committee  of  privi- 
leges had  not  reported  on  this  petition  when  the  Parlia- 
ment came  to  an  end  through  the  death  of  the  Queen.  A 
few  months  later,  the  Tory  party,  which  had  been  instru- 
mental in  returning  Mr.  Earle,  had  a  violent  quarrel  with 
that  gentleman.  In  the  British  Museum  is  a  very  rare 
pamphlet,  printed  in  1714,  and  entitled  "  A  few  short  and 
true  Reasons  why  a  late  Member  was  expelled  from  the 
Loyal  Society."  The  writer  alleges  that  the  person  in 
question — who  could  be  no  one  but  Earle — was  scandalously 
loose  in  his  principles,  of  so  little  reputation  that  he  could 
not  gain  a  handful  of  votes  on  his  own  account,  so  shabby 
that  when  president  of  the  society  (which  Earle  was  in  1712) 
he  starved  the  company  at  the  annual  dinner,  and  after- 
wards refused  to  pay  the  cook,  so  mean  as  to  plead  his 
privilege  of  Parliament  to  avoid  payment  of  dues  to  his 
parish  church,  and  so  false  that  "  though  he  solemnly 
promised  Mr.  Colston  to  stand  by  the  Society  and  the 
Church,  he  keeps  no  correspondence  with  the  city  except 
with  "  Dissenters. 

Flushed  with  the  success  of  the  election,  the  High  Church 
party  resolved  on  pursuing  their  victory  into  the  Corporation 
of  the  Poor,  where  a  revolutionary  change  was  accomplished. 
As  has  been  already  shown,  the  guardians  were  staggering 


1714.]  IN  THE    KianXBENTH    CENTURY.  103 

under  a  constantly  increasing  load  of  debt  arising  from  the 
growth  of  population.  It  was  at  length  resolved  to  apply  to 
Parliament  for  power  to  increase  the  total  yearly  rates  from 
£2,370  to  £3,600.  A  Bill  for  that  purpose  was  introduced 
in  1714,  but  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  Tory  party,  who 
alleged  that  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor  was  a  Whig  device, 
and  that  the  guardians  had  been  guilty  of  mismanagement. 
The  latter  retorted  that  their  difficulties  had  arisen  through 
the  deliberate  misstatement  by  the  churchwardens  of  the 
actual  amount  spent  on  the  poor  in  1696,  which  was  £600 
in  excess  of  the  sum  reported.  They  showed,  moreover, 
that  the  rates  outside  the  city,  still  administered  by  the 
churchwardens,  had  increased  160  per  cent.  In  the  result, 
the  guardians  obtained  increased  rating  powers  only  by  sub- 
mitting to  be  swamped.  The  High  Church  party  having 
obtained  the  assistance  of  the  Government,  which  was 
bent  on  persecuting  Dissenters,  provisions  were  introduced 
into  the  Bill  by  which  the  thirty-four  churchwardens  of  the 
city  parishes  became  members  of  the  incorporation  by  virtue 
of  their  office.  A  clause  was  also  introduced  into  the  Act 
requiring  every  guardian  to  take  the  sacrament  in  a  parish 
church,  thus  disqualifying  Dissenters.  (By  another  Act, 
passed  simultaneously,  though  urgently  petitioned  against 
by  Bristol  Dissenters,  every  schoolmaster  and  private  teacher 
was  subjected  to  the  same  test.)  The  violence  of  the  Tories, 
however,  brought  about  a  reaction.  The  exclusion  of  many 
experienced  guardians,  and  the  irruption  of  a  crowd  of  men 
experienced  only  in  party  intrigues,  were  found  to  be  disas- 
trous to  the  working  of  the  poor  law  machinery,  and  four 
years  later,  by  another  Act,  the  junior  moiety  of  the  church- 
wardens was  excluded  from  the  board  and  the  sacramental 
test  repealed.  Some  curious  documents  relating  to  the 
latter  statute  are  in  the  British  Museum.  In  one  of  these 
it  is  fdleged  that  the  Church  party  promoted  the  reform, 
having  perceived  "their  mistake  in  encumbering  themselves 
with  offices  unattended  with  profit,  honour,  or  interest," 
and  being  now  desirous  of  forcing  Dissenters  to  bear  such 
offices,  "  and  in  some  measure  to  ease  churchmen."  But 
the  Bishop  of  Bristol  (Smalridge)  offered  a  strenuous  resist- 
ance to  the  Bill  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  signed  an  indig- 
nant protest  against  "  letting  in "  Nonconformists  and 
"  shutting  out "  churchwardens.  One  may  divine  the 
political  character  of  the  guardians  from  the  fact  that  they 
passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Dr.  Smalridge  for  his  opposition 
to  the  measure. 


lot  THE    ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1714. 

A  murder  that  caused  a  great  sensation  was  committed 
about  this  time,  on  Durdnam  Down,  by  one  Captain 
Maccartny  on  a  person  named  Beechy,  who  had  lodged 
with  him  in  Bristol  on  the  night  before  the  crime.  The 
facts  are  briefly  summarised  in  the  Common  Council 
minutes  dated  April  12th,  1714.  It  seems  that  upon  the 
murder  being  discovered  the  mayor  despatched  officers  on 
the  track  of  the  culprit,  who  fled  into  West  Somerset,  and 
subsequently  crossed  the  Channel,  but  was  finally  run  down 
in  Glamorganshire.  The  mayor  further  bestirred  himself 
to  procure  evidence  against  the  prisoner,  despatching 
witnesses  to  Gloucester  Assizes  at  his  own  expense.  Being 
convicted,  Maccartny  was  hanged  and  gibbeted  near  the 
great  ravine  on  Durdham  Down.  The  Council  ordered  the 
payment  of  £26  lis.  lid,,  the  amount  expended  by  the 
mayor,  who  received  a  vote  of  thanks  for  his  exertions. 
The  murder  was  long  remembered  with  horror.  From  an 
official  document  dated  November,  1787,  the  ravine  appears 
to  have  been  even  then  generally  known  as  "  Maccartny's 
Gully." 

The  civic  authorities  displayed  great  liberality  at  this 
period  in  their  presents  of  wine,  but  it  may  be  suspected, 
from  the  position  of  the  recipients,  that  an  adequate  equiva- 
lent was  expected  from  them  sooner  or  later.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Chamber  in  February,  1714,  a  letter  was  read  from 
Mr.  Southwell,  of  Kingsweston,  who  was  Secretary  of  State 
for  Ireland  under  a  grant  not  only  for  his  own  life  but 
afterwards  for  his  son,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  12 
dozen  bottles  of  sherry,  and  promising  *'  on  all  occasions  to 
be  serviceable  to  the  city.''  He  also  intimated  the  arrival  of 
36  dozen  forwarded  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  who  "very 
highly  approved  "  of  the  liquor.  The  Duke,  who  was  Lord 
High  Steward  of  the  city  and  many  years  Viceroy  of  Ireland, 
had  received  numerous  presents  of  the  same  kind  ;  some  of 
them  for  his  "great  services"  to  Bristol  interests  in  the 
sister  island.  Another  gift  of  wine  is  somewhat  mysteriously 
recorded  on  the  7th  July,  1714 : — "  Ordered  that  Mr.  Cham- 
berlayne  pay  for  the  20  dozen  of  sherry  sent  to  London  to 
CoUonell  Earle,  by  him  disposed  of  for  the  service  of  the 
city."  It  ought  to  be  added  that  Bristol  sherry  had  at  this 
date  an  unrivalled  reputation.  Mr.  Ashton  in  his  "  Social 
Life  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  "  states  that  the  most 
eminent  London  merchants  "  brought  wine  by  road  from 
Bristol"  (i.  p.  200). 

In  the  Bodleian  Library  is  a  curious  and  probably  unique 


1714.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  105 

pamphlet,  entitled  "An  Account  of  the  Lead  Mines  pro- 
ducing Callamie,  &c.,  on  Durdham  Downe,  near  Bristol,  with 
a  Proposal  for  the  Disposing  of  a  small  Part  thereof.*'  It 
is  undated,  but  a  contemporary  hand  has  written,  "  17  June, 
1714.''  The  writer  sets  off  by  stating  that  Sir  John  Smith, 
of  Long  Ashton,  Richard  Orlebar,  of  Poddington,  Beds.,  and 
Arabella  Astry,  of  Henbury,  owners  of  the  manor  of  Durd- 
ham Down,  had  granted  a  lease  for  twenty-one  years,  from 
Michaelmas,  1712,  of  two  thousand  acres  of  the  down,  with 
leave  to  dig,  sink,  and  mine  thereon  for  iron  ore.  lead  ore, 
manganese,  and  "  callamie,"  to  John  Glover,  oi  London, 
gentleman,  he  paying  yearly  Is.  per  ton  for  iron  ore,  2.^.  for 
every  20*.  worth  of  lead  ore  and  callamie,  and  4^.  for  the 
same  value  of  manganese  ore.  The  lessee,  having  discovered 
valuable  deposits,  had  divided  the  undertaking  into  400  shares, 
and  transferred  the  lease,  with  240  shares,  to  John  Martin, 
of  Hatton  Garden.     Martin  had  since  sunk  above  twenty 

Eits,  whereby  several  hundred  small  veins  of  lead  and  callamie 
ad  been  discovered,  and  the  profit  of  three  pits  only, 
worked  by  six  men,  was  equal  to  £4  195.  per  share  per 
annum.  In  order  to  carry  on  the  concern  more  vigorously, 
Martin  proposed  to  sell  forty  shares  at  £60  each  ;  and  it  was 
estimated  that,  if  thirty  men  were  employed,  the  weekly  out- 
put would  be  worth  £240,  from  which  would  be  deducted  £24 
for  lords'  dues,  and  £26  for  expenses,  leaving  a  profit  equiva- 
lent to  £24  16^.  6d.  yearly  on  each  share.  What  the  profit 
would  be  if  "  300,  nay  6C0  men  were  employed,  as  we 
despair  not  of  doing  in  a  little  time,"  the  wily  prospectus 
maKer  left  "  the  reader  to  consider."  He  added  that  a 
smelting  furnace  was  about  to  be  constructed  "  at  the  end 
of  a  large  storehouse  we  lately  built  on  the  spot,  together 
with  another  oven  for  burning  the  callamie."  Seven 
persons  were  then  concerned  in  the  enterprise,  one  of  whom 
had  given  £360  for  ten  shares.  Before  engaging  in  the 
affair,  Martin  had  sent  down  a  mining  expert,  who  had 
found  lead  veins  in  all  the  pits,  while  the  head  miner,  who 
had  accepted  26  shares  in  lieu  of  salary,  declared  that  there 
was  then  "  £1,000  worth  of  oar  in  view."  Persons  desiring 
further  information  were  directed  to  apply  to  Mr.  Glover, 
"who  is  here  in  town  ...  at  Tom's  Coffee  House." 
Nothing  more  has  been  discovered  respecting  this  enter- 
prise, which  was  doubtless  a  product  of  the  speculative 
mania  of  the  time.  From  the  promoter's  assertion  that 
Durdham  Down  was  2,000  acres  in  extent,  whilst  its  actual 
area  is  only  212  (though  possibly  as  much  more  was  subse- 


106  THE   ANNALS   OP    BRISTOL  [1714. 

quently  enclosed),  he  clearly  could  have  been  taught  little 
by  modem  bubble  blowers.  In  October,  1721,  complaint 
was  made  to  the  Bristol  Council  of  the  numerous  and  dan- 
gerous holes  and  pits  on  Durdham  Down,  "  near  the  common 
ways."  The  cost  of  levelling  the  ground  was  estimated  at 
£100,  and  a  vote  of  half  that  amount  was  agreed  to,  the 
Merchants'  Society  having  undertaken  to  pay  the  other 
moiety.  The  wealthy  owners  of  the  manor,  who  in  their 
pursuit  of  profit  had  permitted  the  down  to  become  perilous 
to  the  lives  and  limbs  of  the  public,  characteristically  stood 
aloof. 

On  the  arrival,  on  the  2nd  of  August,  1714,  of  intelligence 
of  the  death  of  the  Queen,  the  authorities  ordered  the  im- 
mediate proclamation  of  her  successor  at  the  High  Cross 
and  other  public  places.  A  grand  entertainment  was  given 
at  the  Council  House,  and  the  conduits  ran  wine  for  the 
populace.  [Whilst  the  friends  of  the  House  of  Hanover  were 
celebrating  its  advent,  hundreds  of  superstitious  Bristolians 
were  profoundly  agitated  by  a  discovery  made  that  day. 
A  cooper  living  in  Baldwin  Street  had  invited  some  friends 
to  spend  the  afternoon  with  him,  and  proposed  that  they 
should  smoke  in  the  summer-house  of  the  "pretty  large 
garden''  attached  to  his  house.  The  pavilion  was  said  to 
nave  been  a  rendezvous  of  the  Bristolians  concerned  in  the 
Rye  House  plot,  and  to  commemorate  the  circumstance, 
a  wooden  crown  surmounting  a  globe  had  been  suspended 
from  the  roof.  On  entering  the  building,  the  revellers  were 
horrified  by  observing  that  the  ornament  was  completely 
hidden  by  an  enormous  black  cobweb,  measuring  34  feet 
in  length.  The  cooper  averred  that  the  place  had  been 
swept  during  the  previous  week.  The  phenomenon  was 
regarded  by  many  as  an  awful  portent,  and  multitudes 
flocked  to  witness  it.  The  web  was  destroyed  by  curiosity 
hunters,  but  some  portions  were  long  preserved.  A  drawing 
of  the  marvel  is  amongst  the  Catcott  MSS.  in  the  Museum 
and  Library.]  When  George  I.  made  a  state  entry  into 
London  in  September,  the  Common  Council  resolved  that 
his  arrival  should  be  observed  "  with  the  utmost  pomp, 
splendour,  and  solemnity  that  this  city  is  capable  of"  A 
general  holiday  was  ordered,  the  streets  were  ablaze  with 
bonfires  and  tallow  candles,  and  about  £84  were  disbursed 
by  the  Corporation  in  the  customary  festivities. 

The  new  king's  coronation,  in  October,  afforded  the  Whig 
party  another  opportunity  for  rejoicing.  Possibly  the  re- 
peated demonstrations  had  irritated  the  Tories,  the  bulk  of 


1714.]  TS  THE    EIGHTXKMII    CENTURY.  J  07 

whom  were  Jacobites,  and  they  resolved  to  manifest  their 
discontent.  The  alarming  riot  which  marked  the  day  has 
been  described  by  Seyer  and  Pryce,  and  it  seems  unneces- 
sary to  reproduce  their  narratives.  It  will  suffice  to  say 
that  whilst  the  citizens  were  preparing  to  illuminate  their 
houses,  and  the  upper  classes  were  assembling  to  take  part 
in  a  grand  ball  at  the  new  Custom  House,  a  horde  of  colliers 
and  labourers,  hired  for  the  purpose  and  primed  with  liquor 
by  some  fanatical  Tories,  burst  into  the  city,  where  they 
were  joined  by  great  numbers  of  the  lowest  class,  and  soon 
worked  serious  havoc  to  the  cry  of  *'  Sacheverell  and  Ormond, 
and  damn  all  foreigners."  A  report  had  been  spread  that 
the  Dissenters  had  prepared  effigies  of  Sacheverell,  with  the 
intention  of  burning  them  at  the  bonfires ;  and  this  mali- 
cious fiction  provoked  the  populace  to  attack  the  dissenting 
meeting-house  in  Tucker  Street,  and  several  private  houses. 
The  dwelUng  of  a  baker,  named  Stevens,  in  Tucker  Street, 
was  three  times  assailed,  and  eventually  plundered,  but  the 
mob  were  at  last  driven  off  by  the  occupant's  son,  captain 
of  a  West  Indiaman,  who  shot  at  and  mortally  wounded  a 
rioter.  A  well-meaning  Quaker,  named  Thomas,  who  en- 
treated the  mob  to  retire,  was  trampled  under  foot  and 
fatally  injured.  After  committing  much  destruction  in  the 
same  neighbourhood,  the  sufferers  being  invariably  Dis- 
senters or  prominent  Hanoverians,  the  rabble  adjourned  to 
Queen  Square,  where  they  smashed  the  windows  of  the 
Custom  House,  and  forced  the  terrified  ladies  within  to  seek 
safety  in  flight.  Upon  being  charged  by  a  number  of 
gentlemen  and  livery  servants,  the  rioters  scattered ;  but 
the  disturbance  was  not  quelled  until  midnight.  The  Cor- 
poration, angry  and  indignant,  requested  the  Government 
to  issue  a  special  commission  for  the  trial  of  such  of  the 
rioters  as  had  been  captured,  and  three  judges  were  accord- 
ingly sent  down  in  November.  The  Jacobites,  who  were 
not  without  audacity,  rivalled  the  Whigs  in  their  greeting 
of  the  ministers  of  justice.  A  great  crowd  assembled  on 
the  arrival  of  the  judges,  and  their  entry  into  the  city  was 
converted  into  a  political  demonstration,  in  which  seditious 
cries  were  not  wanting.  An  ultra-Tory  merchant,  named 
Hart,  even  ventured  to  exhibit  his  Jacobite  sympathies  in 
court,  but  was  suppressed  by  Colonel  Earle,  M.P.,  who  charged 
him  to  his  face  with  being  an  instigator  of  the  riot.  The 
prisoners  were  of  the  lowest  class,  the  ringleaders  having 
absconded ;  and,  to  the  exuberant  joy  of  the  Jacobites,  the 
culprits  were  dealt  with  very  leniently.      Stevens's  son, 


108  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1714-15. 

impudently  charged  with  murder  at  the  instance  of  the 
Tories,  was  acquitted.  Riots  of  a  similar  character  to  the 
above  occurred  at  Bath,  Gloucester,  Bridgwater,  and 
Taunton. 

The  general  election  caused  by  the  death  of  the  Queen 
occurred  early  in  1716,  whilst  the  city  was  still  seething 
with    faction    and   disorder.      The  Whig  candidates  were 
Colonel  Joseph  Earle  (the   former  nominee  of  the  Tories) 
and  Sir  William  Daines,  who  were  opposed  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Edwards,  jun.,  and  Mr.  Philip  Freke.     Confused  and  con- 
tradictory accounts  of  the  proceedings  are  given  by   con- 
temporary annalists.     The  most  amusing  is  that  of  Edmund 
Tucker,  apothecary,   whose   manuscript  is  in  the   Council 
House.      The  writer,  an  enthusiastic  Tory,  states  that  the 
election  began  on  the  9th  February,  and  continued  until 
the  16th.     *'  During  which  election  the  mayor,  aldermen, 
and  com.  councill  (not  so  much  for  keeping  the  Kings  peace 
as  was  pretended,  but  chiefly  to  cast  an  odium  on  the  Loyal 
Society  in  order  that  they  might  be  for  ever  dispersed,  and 
so  be  baffled  and  dashed  out  of  countenance,  in  order  to 
raise  a  fresh  mutiny  for  shutting  up  the  poll)  constituted 
and  swore  near  80  fresh  constables  of  the  most  vile  poor 
and  scurrilous  wretches  of  the  citty,  both  free  beggars  and 
foreign  ruffians."     But  the  **  noble  behaviour  of  the  Church 
party  frustrated  their  designed  villainy,"  the  poll  being  as 
follows :— Freke,    1991;    Edwards,    1976;    Daines,    1936; 
Earle,  1899.     The  defeated  candidates,  however,  demanded 
a  scrutiny,    "which   tho   never   known   in  this  citty  yett 
was  granted."     The  sheriflFs  next  spent  two  days  "  in  ban- 
tering and  caffleing  with  the  Loyall  freeholders  "  as  to  how 
the  scrutiny  should  be  conducted,  proposing  amongst  other 
"  bugbears  "  to  strike  oflF  the  votes  of  all  who  had  children 
in  the  public  schools ;  but  as  the  Low  party  would  have  lost 
more  by  this  operation  than  their  opponents,  it  was  aban- 
doned.    Finally,  the  sheriffs  adjourned  the  scrutiny  from 
the  Guildhall  to  the  Council  House,   "  refusing   the   land 
owners   attendance   as   much   as  possible,   and   in  private 
signed  a  returne  for  Daines  and  Earle."      To  please  the 
other  side,  indeed,  "that  scrutinising  tool,  Dick  Taylor" 
[sheriff]  offered  to  sign   "  a  double  returne,   altho   like   a 
villain  he  well  knew  it  would  never  be  sent  up,"  and  so 
"  the  libertys  and  properties  of  this  citty  "  were  betrayed  by 
men  "  with  foreheads  of  brass,  who  could  not  blush,  their 
crime  being  so  hellish."     Messrs.  Edwards  and  Freke  peti- 
tioned for  the  seats  in  1716,  1717,  and  1718,  contending  that 


1715.]  IN  THE   KIOHTEENTH   CENTURY.  109 

they  were  duly  returned,  but  the  committee  of  elections 
never  reported  on  their  case.  The  expenses  of  the  Whig 
candidates  amounted  to  £2,267,  about  two-thirds  of  the 
money  being  spent  in  entertaining  the  electors  in  the 
various  parishes.  Amongst  the  items  were: — "Woman's 
note  under  the  Guildhall  for  beer,"  doubtless  drunk  at  the 
polling,  "  £47  17«.,"  equivalent  to  about  1,000  gallons ;  and 
'•  Knots  "  (ribands),  £78  18*.  lOd. 

The  extreme  poverty  of  many  of  the  ecclesiastical  livings 
in  Bristol  has  been  already  noticed.  In  1714  an  Act  of 
Parliament  was  passed  for  facilitating  grants  from  Queen 
Anne's  Bounty  to  places  in  need  of  help,  and  inquiries  were 
soon  afterwards  made  in  local  parishes  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  the  statute.  Amongst  the  records  in  the 
Consistory  Court  at  the  cathedral  is  a  certificate  signed  by 
the  bishop's  commissioners.  Dean  Booth  and  two  of  the 
prebendaries  (who  held  their  sittings  at  the  White  Lion 
inn,  Broad  Street),  recording  the  results  in  St.  James's,  and 
the  suburban  parishes  in  Gloucestershire.  Two  of  the  prin- 
cipal inhabitants  had  been  required  to  make  an  affidavit  as 
to  the  "  clear  yearly  profits  demandable  by  law  "  by  each 
incumbent.     The  account  rendered  was  as  follows : — 

£   8.  d, 

St.  Jameses.    Gift  sermons 8  12    0 

Westbury.    Mr.  Henry  Fane  pays  yearly  ...  10    0    0 


„  Gift  sermons 


Clifton.    One  ^ift  sermon    

„          The  impropriator  of  tithes  pay 
Stapleton.    Small  tithes      

„             Vicarage  house  (lets  for) 
Horneld.    Gift  sermon         

„            Interest  on  Bishop  Hall's  gift           ...    2  10    0 
Mangotsfield IB    0    0 


8    6    8 

10    0 

8  yearly    5    0    0 


14  10  0 
0  10  0 
0  10    0 


The  certificates  relating  to  the  rest  of  the  city  parishes  are 
unfortunately  missing.  In  1718  Horfield,  Westbury,  Man- 
gotsfield, and  Stapleton  obtained  grants  of  £200  each  from 
Queen  Anne's  Bounty,  in  consequence  of  donations  of  £100 
each  made  in  their  favour  by  Edward  Colston. 

A  tailor's  bill,  dated  May,  171B,  records  the  cost  of  a  rich 
suit  of  clothes  furnished  to  a  Bristolian  named  Lane  Hol- 
lister,  who  is  believed  to  have  been  a  Quaker.  The  garments 
were  embroidered  with  13|  yards  of  silk,  which  cost  £3  19*., 
and  were  lined  with  "sattin,"  costing  £1.  The  total  was 
£12  11*.  The  tailor  was  unable  to  sign  his  name  to  the 
receipt. 

The  imminence  of  a  Jacobite  rebellion,  and  the  proba- 


110  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1715. 

bility  of  the  overthrow  of  the  new  dynasty,  seem  to  have 
weighed  at  this  period  over  the  whole  community.  In  the 
preparations  made  for  a  revolt,  the  hopes  of  the  Pretender's 
friends  in  Gloucestershire  and  Somerset  rested  chiefly  on 
the  young  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Bristol, 
who,  though  he  had  renounced  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
of  his  ancestors,  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  exiled 
family.  Happily,  perhaps,  for  his  house,  the  Duke  fell  ill, 
and  died  a  few  weeks  before  the  Queen,  leaving  as  heir  to 
his  vast  estates  a  boy  of  seven  years.  The  Western  Jaco- 
bites then  accepted  for  leader  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Somerset,  much  being  also  expected  from  Sir 
William  Wyndham,  M.P.  for  that  county.  Owing  to  Or- 
mond's  popularity  and  reputation  for  energy,  the  leading 
Jacobites  anticipated  greater  results  from  his  action  in  the 
West  than  from  the  revolt  already  concerted  in  the  North. 
*'  Before  leaving  London,"  says  Lord  Stanhope,  he  "  had 
concerted  measures  for  seizing  Bristol,  Exeter,  and  Ply- 
mouth, had  assigned  stations  for  a  great  number  of  dis- 
charged officers  in  his  interest,  and  had  even  provided  relays 
of  horses  on  the  road  to  secure  his  rapid  progress.  But 
though  personally  a  brave  man,  at  the  last  moment  his 
heart  failed  him.  He  slunk  away,  and  crossed  over  to 
France/^  He  was  impeached  in  June,  171B,  and  was  thence- 
forth politically  dead.  In  the  meantime  the  rival  parties 
in  Bristol,  as  elsewhere,  scented  the  approach  of  an  out- 
break, and  fanatics  on  each  side  lost  self-control.  At  the 
quarter  sessions  in  June,  an  indictment  was  found  against 
a  clothier  named  Clisile,  charged  with  "justifying  the 
murder  of  King  Charles  I.,"  and  he  was  committed  for 
trial.  (He  was  afterwards  convicted  and  fined  two  marks.) 
At  the  September  Sessions,  Francis  Colston,  merchant,  a 
nephew  of  the  philanthropist,  charged  with  dispersing  a 
seditious  Jacobite  pamphlet,  entered  into  recognisances  to 
appear  for  trial  at  the  next  gaol  delivery  (when  the  grand 
jury  ignored  the  indictment).  Other  indications  of  party 
passion  were  visible  in  the  streets.  The  28th  May  was 
King  George's  birthday,  and  whilst  loyal  citizens  hung  out 
their  banners,  Jacobites  carried  thyme  and  rue  in  their 
coat  breasts  to  denote  their  grief.  On  the  following  day, 
however,  the  tables  were  turned,  the  Tories  jauntily  orna- 
menting their  houses  with  branches  of  oak,  and  their 
persons  with  oak  leaves,  in  honour  of  the  Stewarts,  and 
humming,  "  The  King  shall  enjoy  his  own  again  " — a  strain 
still  more  in  vogue  on  the  10th  June,  the  birthday  of  the 


1715.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  Ill 

Pretender,  whose  admirers,  male  and  female,  bedecked 
themselves  with  white  ribbons.  In  September,  in  concert, 
as  was  supposed,  with  the  northern  rebels,  the  leading 
Jacobites  of  the  West  assembled  at  Bath,  under  pretence 
of  drinking  the  waters,  bringing  with  them  a  number  of 
horses  and  a  quantity  of  arms  ;  while  the  situation  in  Bristol 
became  so  serious  that  the  Government  ordered  the  Earl 
of  Berkeley,  Lord  Lieutenant,  to  take  measures  for  the 
security  of  the  city,  which  he  forthwith  did,  calling  up  the 
militia,  and  putting  them  under  arms.  His  Lordship  was 
appointed  Lord  High  Steward  on  the  23rd  September — a 
fact  overlooked  by  Barrett,  while  Pryce  states  that  the 
office  was  vacant  for  64  years.  On  Sunday,  October  2nd, 
the  authorities  got  wind  of  a  plot,  hatched  by  the  Somerset 
Jacobites,  to  seize  the  city,  whereupon  the  militia  were 
mustered,  and  the  gates  shut,  cannon  being  mounted  at 
Redcliff  and  Temple.  Several  prominent  members  of  the 
"  Loyal  Society  " — patronised  by  the  second  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort and  Edward  Colston,  but  described  by  their  opponents 
as  "  a  set  of  rakehells,  who  kept  up  a  drunken  club  to  carry 
on  treasonable  designs  " — were  arrested  ;  amongst  them, 
according  to  Oldmixon's  History,  being  "  Mr.  Hart,  a  mer- 
chant, who  was  charged  with  having  gathered  a  great 
quantity  of  warlike  stores  for  the  use  of  the  disaffected." 
The  prisoners  were  confined  in  "  the  Marshalsea  "  (in  Narrow 
Wine  Street),  which  Tucker  in  his  annals  calls  "  the  old 
OUiverian  prison  house,"  adding  that  "  the  puritans  "  con- 
tinued to  search  the  dwellings  and  take  away  the  arms  of 
the  real  Churchmen  of  the  city,  "  till  they  had  even  de- 
populated the  city  of  its  best  members  "  ;  but  the  evidence 
against  them  was  insufficient,  and  they  were  soon  after- 
wards liberated.  (The  annual  dinner  of  the  Loyal  Society 
on  Colston's  birthday  was  henceforth  abandoned.)  Old- 
mixon  adds  that  in  despite  of  the  activity  of  the  authorities, 
the  Jacobites  proclaimed  the  accession  of  "  James  III."  in 
Bristol  on  the  27th  October.  But  the  arrival  of  a  large 
body  of  troops,  coupled  with  the  tragic  failure  of  the 
Northern  rebels,  dashed  the  hopes  of  the  disaffected.  The 
Bath  conspirators  dispersed  upon  the  arrival  of  General 
Wade,  who  was  despatched  with  two  regiments  to  secure 
against  a  surprise.  Wade's  troops  seized  200  horses,  eleven 
chests  of  fire-arms,  two  hogsheads  filled  with  cartridges  and 
swords,  three  small  cannon,  and  a  mortar.  [So  confident 
were  the  Western  Jacobites  in  the  success  of  the  conspiracy 
that  a  report,  founded  on  their  boastings,  spread  through 


112  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1715. 

Paris  on  the  29  bh  October,  that  Bristol  had  actually  fallen 
into  their  hands.  This  curious  fact  came  to  light  only  in 
1889,  on  the  publication  of  some  letters  of  the  celebrated 
Duchess  of  Orleans.]  As  Sir  William  Wyndham  was  sus- 
pected of  being  a  ringleader  in  the  plot,  he  was  arrested, 
when  compromising  papers  were  found  in  his  pockets.  He 
subsequently  escaped,  but  finding  it  impossible  to  leave 
the  country,  he  gave  himself  up,  and  eventually  was  par- 
doned. The  alarm  cost  the  Corporation  several  hundred 
pounds,  chiefly  for  the  entertainment  of  the  troops.  Amongst 
the  items  are  £114  12s.  for  two  entertainments  to  Lord 
B3rkeley  (who  also  was  presented  with  a  butt  of  sherry), 
£107  10s.  "  paid  the  ten  captains  of  the  ten  companies  of 
the  militia,  for  what  they  paid  their  serjants  and  drumers ;" 
£11  6.^.  6d.  "  paid  for  making  batteries  and  persons  to  attend 
them ; "  £20  3«.  lOd.  for  entertaining  General  Wade  (in- 
cluding Is.  8:L  for  a  barrel  of  oysters  and  38s.  bd.  for  a 
Westphalian  ham),  and  £42  8,9.  for  "  candles  for  Guildhall 
guard  and  main  guard.'"  (The  gates  of  the  city  for  some 
weeks  were  locked  nightly  at  8  o'clock,  and  remained  closed 
until  7  o'clock  in  the  morning.)  A  copy  of  a  popular  Whig 
song,  denouncing  the  disaffected  faction,  has  been  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum.     The  following  are  extracts : — 

See  now  they  pull  down  meetings 

To  plunder,  rob,  and  steal, 
To  raise  the  mob  in  riote, 

And  teach  them  to  rebel. 
At  Oxford,  Bath,  and  BrLstol 

The  rogues  designed  to  rise, 
But  George's  care  and  vigilance 

There's  nothing  can  surprise. 
Base  Ormondes  fled  and  left  them, 

And  Perkin  dare  not  come. 
And  gibbets  are  preparing 

For  those  weN'e  caught  at  home. 

Owing  to  the  increasing  population  of  the  out-parish  of 
St.  Philip's  and  of  Kingswood,  the  "  cage  '*  maintained  near 
Lawford  s  Gate  by  the  county  magistrates  was  found  no 
longer  adequate,  and  an  application  was  made  to  the  Com- 
mon Council  for  a  site  on  which  to  construct  a  "  Bridewell." 
The  Chamber,  on  the  23rd  September,  accordingly  granted 
in  fee,  at  a  yearly  ground  rent  of  10^.,  a  small  plot  of  ground 
in  Well  Close,  on  which  a  house  of  correction  was  soon  after 
erected. 

A  curious  windfall  benefited  the  poor  of  St.  Stephen's 
during  a  remarkably  inclement  winter.  Butter  being  un- 
usually  dear,   some  one  connected  with  an  Irish  trading 


1715-16.]        IN  THB  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  113 

vessel  attempted  to  smuggle  into  Bristol  four  casks  of  butter 
from  the  sister  country,  where  the  article  was  worth  only 
twopence  a  pound.  The  casks  were,  however,  detected  by 
the  Custom  House  searchers,  and  the  forbidden  import  was 
seized,  half  the  value  being  handed  over  to  the  officers  of 
the  parish  where  it  was  found,  for  distribution  amongst  the 
poor. 

In  spite  of  the  failure  of  the  Northern  insurrection,  the 
Jacobites  continued  to  conspire.  In  January,  1716,  a 
manifesto  of  the  Pretender  was  audaciously  flung  about  the 
city,  and  the  Government  spies  having  reported  that  another 
plot  for  seizing  Bristol  was  in  preparation,  some  infantry  re- 
occupied  the  city,  and  two  troops  of  horse  were  voluntarily 
formed  by  the  inhabitants.  The  precautions  were  justified, 
for  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  a  wagon,  ostensibly  laden 
with  goods  for  Bristol  fair,  took  fire  at  Hounslow,  when  great 
quantities  of  arms  and  ammunition  were  found  concealed 
amongst  the  packages.  On  the  10th  of  June,  to  the  exaspera- 
tion of  the  civic  authorities,  an  enormous  bonfire  blazed  on 
Brandon  Hill  in  honour  of  the  Pretender's  birthday.  About 
the  same  time  a  spy  living  in  the  city  forwarded  to  the 
Government  a  list  of  disaffected  persons  into  whose  society 
he  had  insinuated  himself.  His  letter  is  amongst  the  State 
Papers.  The  spy  stated  that  he  had  dined  with  the  Jacobites 
on  several  occasions  at  the  King  David's  Head,  at  a  house  on 
the  Back,  at  the  Blue  Posts  in  Thomas  Street,  at  Penworth 
(ific),  and  at  "  the  cafnp  on  the  Down,"  and  that  King  James's 
health  was  always  drunk,  the  company  sometimes  toasting 
their  idol  "  on  their  bare  knees.''  On  the  10th  June,  1718, 
the  rebel  bonfire  was  again  raised  on  Brandon  Hill,  while 
so  many  white  roses  were  displayed  by  Jacobites  of  both 
sexes  that  the  Corporation  issued  two  placards  denouncing  the 
seditious  manifestations.  In  the  following  October,  doubtless 
in  consequence  of  private  information,  a  descent  was  made 
by  the  county  authorities  upon  Badminton,  the  seat  of  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort,  where  were  seized  three  concealed  field 
pieces,  a  "  pateire  "  (a  small  breech- loaJing  cannon),  two 
blunderbusses,  84  muskets,  12  matchlocks,  eight  carbines, 
12  swords,  a  barrel  of  gunpowder,  a  barrel  of  musket  balls, 
and  18  bandeliers,  (cartridge  cases)  with  shoulder  belts 
(Berkeley  Castle  MSS.).  No  prosecution  followed,  the  Duke 
being  a  mere  child.  In  March,  1719,  a  still  more  serious 
affair  came  to  the  ears  of  the  Government,  doubtless  through 
the  treachery  of  some  Jacobite  agent.  Amongst  the  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  subject  in  the  State  Papers  is  a  letter 

I 


114  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1716. 

from  the  Commissioners  of  Customs,  reporting  that  their 
officers  had  captured,  at  the  King's  Head,  Holborn,  two  cases 
of  arms  consigned  to  Bristol,  one  of  which  was  directed  to 
"  Mr.  James  Bernard,  at  Mr.  Deane's,  in  Balance  (Baldwin) 
Street.''  Immediately  afterwards,  the  magistrates  of  Wilts 
at  Chippenham  acquainted  Secretary  Stanhope  that  "  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  gunpowder  (an  enclosed  paper  says  30 
bales  of  one  cwt.  each)  had  been  stopped  at  Calne,  directed 
to  John  Darkin,  of  Bristol."  This  formidable  store  had  been 
sent  off  from  the  Holborn  inn  before  the  Customs  officers 
made  their  seizure.  These  discoveries  put  an  end  to  the 
conspiracy. 

With  reference  to  the  volunteer  movement  referred  to 
above,  the  Council,  to  mark  its  approval  of  the  loyal  zeal  of 
the  citizens,  resolved  that  "  two  banners,  two  trumpets,  and 
two  standards,  and  two  new  coats  for  the  trumpeters  be  pro- 
vided at  the  citj'  charges,  and  that  the  said  trumpeters  be 
added  to  the  city  musick,  with  salaries."  The  banners  and 
standards,  embroidered  in  gold  and  silver,  with  gold  "  tor- 
sells,"  cost  £79,  the  trumpets  £21  lis,  6d.,  and  "four" 
trump9ters'  coats  £34  10s.  Several  pounds  were  also  spent 
on  a  "  pad  saddle  with  cloth  hoosing  and  bays  embroidered 
with  gold,"  which  may  have  been  provided  to  display  the 
martial  capacities  of  the  mayor.  As  a  further  mark  of  its 
loyalty,  the  Chamber  gave  an  order  for  a  portrait  of  the 
King,  for  which  it  paid  30  guineas. 

It  is  a  remarkable  scientific  fact  that  the  aurora  horealis 
^as  so  completely  unknown  in  England  at  this  period  that 
its  appearance  on  the  Oth  March,  1716,  excited  great  alarm 
amongst  the  sup3rsbitious  in  all  parts  of  the  island.  "  Mighty 
dismall  apparitio:is,"  says  E.  Tucker's  MS.,  "  appeared  in  the 
Element  at  about  8  o'clock  at  night,  to  the  great  amazement 
of  the  spectators,  it  bsing  so  terrible  to  behold  ;  it  held  to 
2  or  3  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  returned  a  few  nights 
after,  but  not  in  so  dismall  a  manner," 

The  increasing  population  of  the  city  was  indicated  at 
this  time  by  building  operations  in  the  northern  and  western 
outskirts.  St.  James's  Square,  begun  about  1707,  and  con- 
taining some  fine  examples  of  the  genuine  Queen  Anne's 
style,  was  finished  in  1716,  and  forthwith  occupied  by 
wealthy  families.  The  space  between  what  is  now  Park 
Row  and  St.  Augustine's  Parade,  consisting  chiefly  of  field!? 
and  gardens,  began  also  to  be  converted  into  building  sites. 
Especial  earnestness  was  exhibited  to  appropriate  the  orchard 
of  the  old  hospital  of  "  the  Gaunts,"  adjacent  to  St.  Mark's 


1716.]  IN   THE    BiaHTEENTH    CENTURY.  115 

Chapel,  owing  to  the  amenity  of  the  site.  The  Council,  in 
March,  1716,  resolved  that  this  ground  should  be  offered  in 
building  plots,  many  of  which  were  quickly  disposed  of,  and 
Orchard  Street  soon  became  a  fashionable  locality,  although 
it  could  be  reached  by  carriages  only  through  Frogmore 
Street.  For  the  improvement  of  the  estate,  the  Corporation, 
as  trustees,  leased  some  property  from  the  dean  and  chapter, 
"  to  make  a  way  from  St.  Augustine's  Back  to  Frogg  Lane," 
which  was  followed  later  on  by  the  conversion  of  Gaunt's 
Lane  into  Denmark  Street.  Hanover  Street  was  built  about 
the  same  time  by  the  Combe  family,  on  a  plot  of  ground 
leased  for  1,000  years  by  the  Corporation  so  early  as  1693, 
at  a  yearly  rent  of  288,  8d, 

At  this  period  the  celebration  of  divine  worship  according 
to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  forbidden  by  law. 
It  was  equally  illegal  for  a  Romish  priest  to  dwell  in  any 
English  city.     The  statute  was,  however,  often  transgressed. 
M.  Jouvin,  a  Frenchman  who  travelled  in  England  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.,  states  that  the  Fleming  with  whom  he 
lodged  in  Bristol  had  "  long  entertained  a  priest  who  said 
mass  secretly  in  his  house  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  many 
foreign  sailors  frequenting  the  port,     A  few  years  later,  the 
House  of  Commons  received  information  that  Henry  Carew 
a  friar,  had  for  several  years  executed  the  office  of  surveyoi 
in  the  Bristol  Custom  House,  and  secretly  acted  as  a  priest 
About  1710,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  a  few  of  the  perse 
cuted  faith  were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  worship  in  th 
upper  room  of  a  house  at  Hooke's  Mills,  outside  the  civic 
boundaries.     The  authorities  were  nevertheless  vigilant.    In 
April,  1716,  one  Ward,  a  gunsmith,  "  suspected  for  a  popish 

f)rie8t,"  was  brought  up  at  the  quarter  sessions,  but  was 
iberated  on  offering  recognisances  for  his  good  behaviour. 
About  the  same  time,  a  list  of  Roman  Catholics  living  in  the 
city  was  forwarded  to  the  Government  by  the  town  clerk. 
They  were  all  workmen,  and  consisted  of  two  tailors,  a  ship- 
wright, a  weaver,  a  cordwainer,  a  gardener,  and  "  a  stranger  " 
(State  Papers).  During  the  rebellion  in  1745  all  the  **  pro- 
fessed Papists  "  in  the  kingdom  were  required  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegianee.  Only  nineteen  such  persons  were  found 
in  Bristol.  They  had,  however,  a  small  chapel  on  St. 
James's  Back,  where  a  priest  named  John  Scudamore  began 
to  officiate  about  1738.  The  chapel  accommodated  only 
about  80  persons,  and  many  of  the  congregation  are  said  to 
have  been  Flemings,  employed  in  the  local  spelter  works. 
The  cost  of  .a  parochial  feast  at  this  period  is  shown  by 


116  THB   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1716 

the  records  of  St.  John's  parish  for  April,  1716.  The  following 
are  the  chief  items : — "  3  dozen  Pidgings,  10s ;  2  pigs,  B^  ;  a 
loin  of  veal  and  side  of  lamb,  8«.  6d ;  a  rump  and  middle  cutt 
beefe,  lis;  1  gallon  Rhenish,  Is;  2  gallons  port,  12s ]  3^ 
gallons  sherry,  £1  6^.  3d." 

At  the  midsummer  quarter  sessions  the  constables  of  the 
wards  received  special  instructions  to  suppress  "  all  gaming 
houses,  bileard  tables,  and  other  unlawful  games."  The 
proscription  of  billiards  was  maintained  for  many  years.  In 
1732  a  man  who  had  ventured  on  importing  a  table  escaped 
prosecution  only  by  promising  to  remove  it  and  not  offend 
again.  The  magistrates  had  also  a  strong  antipathy  to 
fencing.  A  peripatetic  teacher  of  the  art  was  sent  to  prison 
for  some  weeks  in  1780  as  a  rogue  and  vagabond. 

The  Council,  in  1716,  appointed  a  committee  to  settle 
terms  for  the  sale  of  two  houses  in  Temple  Street  to  the 
trustees  of  Alderman  Stevens,  "  for  the  purpose  of  building 
an  almshouse."  The  minute  illustrates  the  peculiar  manner 
in  which  corporate  business  was  transacted,  for  it  is  an  un- 
questionable fact,  as  the  conveyance  sealed  soon  after  bears 
witness,  that  the  hospital  was  built  before  the  negotiations 
for  purchasing  the  site  appear  to  have  been  opened.  As  a 
gross  error  respecting  the  founder  of  this  charity  appears  in 
a  local  work,  it  may  be  stated  that  Thomas  Stevens  (mayor, 
1668)  devised  estates  in  1679  for  the  erection  and  mainte- 
nance of  two  almshouses  (for  twenty- four  poor  persons),  one 
in  St.  Philip's  and  the  other  in  Temple  parish.  The  former 
was  erected  in  1686  in  the  Old  Market.  Funds  having 
accumulated,  the  trustees,  in  1715,  ordered  the  construction 
of  the  other. 

Clifton  parish  church,  which  in  its  original  form  accom- 
modated a  very  limited  number  of  worshippers,  was  enlarged 
in  1716  by  the  addition  of  an  aisle. 

The  incursion  of  "  foreigners  "  within  the  corporate  boun- 
daries for  trading  purposes  roused  the  indignation  of  the 
Council  in  December,  1716.  A  number  of  those  audacious 
intruders  had  been  already  brought  before  the  justices,  and 
fined  £6  each,  and  the  chamberlain  was  ordered  to  proceed 
rigorously  against  every  "unfreeman  keeping  shoppe."  At 
a  subsequent  meeting  he  was  charged  with  remissness,  but 
contended  in  his  defence  that  through  his  numerous  prose- 
cutions many  of  the  "  usurping  foreigners  "  had  left  the  city. 
Further  legal  proceedings  probably  followed,  as  an  unusual 
number  of  persons  applied  for  the  freedom,  and  were  admit- 
ted on  paying  fines  varying  from  £100  to  £30.      One  of  the 


1716-17.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  117 

men   taxed    at   the   latter  amount  was    a   "  gingerbread- 
baker." 

Nearly  all  the  houses  in  Queen  Square  having  been  erected, 
the  Common  Council  gave  directions  for  ornamenting  the 
quadrangle  with  trees,  of  which  no  less  than  240  were 
planted  ;  fiftj'  loads  of  fresh  earth  being  brought  from  Stokes 
Croft  to  improve  the  soil.     The  improvement  cost  only  £20. 

At  the  quarter  sessions  in  December,  a  man  named  Plum- 
ley,  who  may  possibly  have  been  one  of  the  "usurping 
foreigners  "  just  referred  to,  was  solemnly  indicted  for  the 
scandalous  offence  of  having  publicly  "cursed  the  late 
mayor."  In  dread  of  exasperating  the  indignation  of  his 
aldermanic  judges,  the  culprit  pleaded  guilty,  and  escaped 
with  a  fine  of  "  five  nobles  "  (£1  13*.  4d.)  and  costs. 

At  the  same  sessions,  the  grand  jury  presented,  as  a  great 
danger  to  the  navigation  of  the  Avon,  a  ship  named  the 
Delaval,  which  had  stranded  on  the  side  of  the  river  near 
Pill,  and  threatened  to  fall  into  the  stream.  Nothing  being 
done,  the  wreck  fell  as  was  anticipated,  and  the  Corporation 
was  then  forced  to  employ  men  for  its  removal.  The  cost 
exceeded  £114,  but  £58  were  recovered  by  the  sale  "  by  beat 
of  drum  "  of  the  ship  and  materials  to  John  Hobbs,  a  mer- 
chant whom  the  reader  has  already  encountered.  The 
owner  of  the  Delaval  could  not  be  discovered.  But  fourteen 
years  later,  after  the  ship  had  made  twenty-eight  voyages 
for  Mr.  Hobbs,  a  man  named  Martin,  claiming  to  be  the 
original  owner,  commenced  an  action  for  the  recovery  of  the 
ship  and  the  entire  profits  made  since  her  sale  !  In  this  he 
was  of  course  defeated,  but  as  he  had  carried  on  his  suit 
in  formd  pauperis^  Hobbs  was  unable  to  recover  his  costs. 
The  Corporation,  in  1731,  vetoed  the  latter  £50  towards  his 
expenses. 

In  January,  1717,  a  great  sensation  was  produced  in  the 
city  by  the  return — apparently  in  good  health — of  a  labourer 
named  Christopher  Lovell,  who  had  baen  sent  to  Avignon 
at  the  expense  of  a  number  of  local  Jacobites,  to  be  **  touched" 
by  "  James  III."  for  the  king's  evil,  a  disease  from  which  he 
had  long  suffered.  The  assertions  of  his  patrons  that  he  had 
been  miraculously  relieved  were  enthusiastically  accepted  by 
the  ignorant  and  disaffected,  and  even  some  educated  people 
expressed  themselves  convinced  that  the  royal  finger  had 
effected  a  cure  beyond  the  power  of  medical  science.  The 
man  was  visited,  says  a  believer,  by  "  infinite  numbers,"  who 
deemed  their  examination  completely  satisfactory,  and  the 
joy   of   the  Jacobities  as   the  marvel   spread   through  the 


118  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1717. 

kingdom  was  unconcealed.  Unfortunately  the  so-called  cure 
of  Lovell  was  of  brief  duration.  He  was  again  frightfully 
attacked  by  his  old  malady,  and  those  who  had  paid  the 
expenses  of  his  pilgrimage,  and  gloried  in  its  results,  could 
find  no  decent  pretext  for  declining  the  cost  of  a  second  ex- 
periment. The  poor  man  was  again  smuggled  to  France, 
but  succumbed  under  the  ravages  of  the  disease  before  he 
could  reach  the  Pretender.  It  was  now  the  turn  of  the 
Whigs  to  rejoice  over  the  chapfallen  Jacobites.  The  inci- 
dent would  probably  have  been  lost  to  posterity  but  for  the 
credulity  of  a  man  of  learning  and  culture,  Thomas  Carte,  a 
non-juring  clergyman.  In  his  History  of  England,  published 
in  1747,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  the 
Corporation  of  London,  and  many  of  the  leading  Jacobites 
at  Oxford,  Carte,  who  was  ignorant  of  the  ultimate  fate  of 
Lovell,  spoke  of  the  regal  unction  as  of  infallible  efficacy 
in  healing  scrofulous  diseases,  and  narrated  the  cure  of 
the  Bristolian  as  OAe  which  he  was  able  to  attest  personally, 
having  visited  Lovell  at  his  home  "  in  the  week  preceding 
St.  Paul's  fair,  1717,"  and  found  him  "  without  any  remains 
of  his  complaint.'^  Intelligence,  however,  had  made  some 
progress  in  1747,  and  the  author's  superstition,  which  was 
triumphantly  exposed  in  the  London  Evening  Pod  (by  Josiah 
Tucker,  afterwards  Dean  of  Gloucester),  was  fatal  to  the 
success  of  an  otherwise  valuable  work.  Tucker  was  subse- 
quently styled  ''  Josiah  ben  Tucker  ben  Judas  Iscariot  "  by 
the  exasperated  Jacobites. 

The  leisurely  manner  in  which  the  Corporation  habitually 
dealt  with  public  improvements  is  impressively  shown  in 
the  story  of  the  Exchange.  The  civic  minutes  of  the  16th 
January,  1717,  contain  the  following  entry :  — "  Several 
members  of  the  House  took  occasion  to  mention  many  in- 
conveniencyes,  that  there  was  not  a^  more  convenient  place 
than  the  Tolzey  for  the  assembling  of  Merchants,  and  that 
there  had  been  discourse  of  building  a  place  in  nature  of  an 
Exchange  for  that  purpose.  Whereupon  the  Mayor  [and 
several  others]  are  appointed  a  committee  to  receive  any 
proposall  that  shall  be  made  for  that  purpose."  The  subiect 
was  then  allowed  to  sleep  for  over  four  years.  In  October, 
1721,  a  petition  of  merchants  and  shipowners  prayed  the 
Council  to  take  action,  and  the  Chamber  resolved  to  obtain 
an  Act  to  authorise  the  necessary  works,  undertaking  to  bear 
half  the  expense  of  the  building.  The  corporate  petition  to 
the  House  of  Commons  stated  that  the  Tolzey  was  insufficient 
to  accommodate  those  attending  it,  and  that  many  persons 


1717.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  119 

suffered  seriously  in  health  there,  owing  to  being  unprotected 
from  the  weather.  The  Act  was  obtained  without  difficulty 
early  in  1722,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  exercise  its 
powers ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  persistent  obstruction  of 
**  a  senior  gentleman  "  {MisVs  Journal^  December  25th,  1726), 
the  vigour  of  the  Corporation  was  again  exhausted.  As  will 
afterwards  be  seen,  the  Tolzey  remained  the  only  rendezvous 
for  mercantile  men  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
after  it  had  been  condemned  by  the  Chamber. 

The  Rev.  William  Goldwin,  whose  "  poetical  description  " 
of  the  city  has  been  already  mentioned,  resigned  the  head- 
mastership  of  the  Grammar  School  in  July,  1717,  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  In  the  previous  year,  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  Howell,  rector  of  St.  Nicholas,  refused  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  George  I.,  and  was  consequently  de- 
prived of  his  living.  The  dean  and  chapter,  the  patrons, 
immediately  presented  a  clergyman  to  the  vacancy ;  but 
the  Crown  intervened,  claiming  the  right  of  presentation  to 
all  the  incumbencies  forfeited  by  non-jurors.  Mr.  Goldwin, 
having  been  recommended  to  the  Government  by  the  Corpora- 
tion, was  soon  afterwards  presented  to  the  living;  whereupon 
Bishop  Smalridge  opposed  the  royal  nomination,  and  excited 
so  much  ill-feeling  towards  Goldwin  amongst  High  Church- 
men that  one-third  of  the  boys  in  the  Grammar  School  were 
withdrawn.  (Smalridge's  sympathy  for  High  Church  prin- 
ciples threw  suspicion  on  his  own  loj^alty,  and  he  was 
dismissed  from  the  office  of  Lord  High  Almoner.)  After 
some  delay,  the  episcopal  obstruction  was  overcome,  and 
Goldwin,  on  entering  upon  the  preferment,  relinquished  his 
previous  post.  In  a  letter  to  the  Council  he  gave  an  account 
of  his  mastership.  "  In  1710,''  he  wrote,  "  I  found  47  boys. 
Since  that  time  to  the  present  I  have  disposed  of  the  youth 
as  follows,  viz  : — To  Oxford,  12 ;  to  law,  7  ;  to  physick,  1 ;  to 
the  army,  1 ;  to  shop  trades,  66 ;  to  merchants  and  the  sea, 
63,"  which  with  25  others  variously  distributed  or  dead 
made  a  total  of  156.  The  number  attending  the  school  had 
nearly  doubled  while  it  was  in  his  hands,  but  owing  to  the 
bishop's  hostility  it  had  fallen  to  56.  After  his  departure 
there  was  a  further  decline,  the  scholars  numbering  only  20 
in  1722 ;  but  eighteen  months  later,  under  the  Rev.  A.  S. 
Catcott,  the  institution  was  again  flourishing,  the  youths 
having  increased  to  seventy. 

The  Council,  in  August,  1717,  resolved  upon  the  purchase 
of  the  "  Great  Tower  on  the  Quay,"  a  huge  structure  origi- 
nally built  for  the  defence  of  the  western  side  of  Bristol, 


120  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1717. 

about  the  time  of  the  excavation  of  the  modem  course  of  the 
Froom.  The  tower,  which  was  about  100  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, and  stood  on  the  Quay  near  the  site  of  the  late  draw- 
bridge, had  long  been  an  inconvenience  to  traffic.  It  was 
secured  for  £2o(J,  and  was  removed  in  1722. 

Mr.  Edmund  Tucker,  the  amusing  Tory  annalist,  was  great- 
ly incensed  about  this  time  by  the  resolve  of  his  Whig  fellow 
citizens  to  celebrate  the  coronation-day  of  George  I.  He  re- 
cords the  matter  as  follows : — "  This  year  on  the  21st  8ber 
(October)  a  poor  ragged  society  of  fellows,  terming  them- 
selves the  Hannoverian  Society,  mett  and  walked  up  to  Red- 
clift  Church  with  the  fidlers  before  them,  where  was  a  sermon 
preached  before  them  by  Mr.  Arthur  Bedford,  in  opposition 
to  the  Loyall  Society's  commemorationof  the  2nd  9ber  yearly 
in  the  late  raigne.  The  said  fellows  w^ere  treated  by  the 
at  a  paltry  alehouse  on  St.  Austin's  Back."  The 
blank  in  this  angry  note  ought  doubtless  to  be  filled  by  the 
word  Corporation.  Mr.  Bedford  was  the  vicar  of  Temple 
denounced  by  Mr.  Colston  in  1710. 

Readers  of  Lord  Macaulay's  History  will  remember  his 
severe  condemnation  of  Sir  John  Knight,  M.P.  for  the  city 
in  1693,  who  made  a  virulent  attack  on  William  III.  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  whose  speech,  printed  by  tens  of 
thousands  at  the  Jacobite  presses,  was  burnt  at  Westminster 
by  the  hangman.  (Mr.  Nicholls  commits  the  extraordinary 
blunder  of  fixing  the  latter  event  in  1744,  fifty  years  after 
the  actual  date.)  Sir  John  subsequently  gave  much  offence 
in  Bristol  by  extorting  from  the  Corporation,  under  a  threat 
of  legal  proceedings,  his  "  w^ages  as  a  Parliament  man,"  and, 
falling  into  poverty,  he  retired  to  Congresbury,  where  he  had 
a  small  estate.  In  October,  1713,  his  daughter  Anne  set  forth 
her  "  deplorable  state  "  in  a  petition  to  the  Council,  and  was 
granted  £20.  In  December,  1717,  Sir  John  himself  made  a 
similar  appeal,  asserting  that  he  was  reduced  to  great  neces- 
sity and  want  by  the  unnatural  treatment  of  his  son,  and 
praying  for  the  charitable  assistance  of  the  Chamber.  Little 
sympathy  seems  to  have  been  felt  for  the  old  persecutor  of 
Dissenters,  for  the  sum  accorded  was  only  £2(5.  The  Mer- 
chants' Society,  a  few  weeks  previously,  had  granted  him  an 
annuity  of  £20  ;  but  Sir  John  died  in  the  following  February. 
In  June,  1722,  his  daughter  presented  her  "  very  poor  and 
mean  condition,"  and  her  inability  to  support  herself  owing 
to  failing  sight,  whereupon  the  Council  granted  her  a  life 
annuity  of  £12. 

A   beautifully  engraved  view  of  the  city,  drawn  by  au 


1718.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  121 

artist  named  Blundel,  was  published  in  1717.  The  sketch 
was  taken  from  Totterdown,  and  shows  that  only  five 
buildings,  clustered  against  the  city  wall,  stood  outside 
Temple  Gate.  The  road  to  Keynsham,  as  well  as  that  to 
Bed  minster  from  Redclitf  Gate,  was  a  mere  track  through 
unenclosed  land. 

On  the  31st  March,  1718,  John  Bracegirdle,  a  tide  surveyor, 
appeared  before  the  mayor  to  give  information  of  a  seditious 
sermon.  The  oflficer  had  attended  service  at  St.  George's 
church,  near  Pill,  a  few  days  before,  when  the  Rev.  Edward 
Bisse,  incumbent  of  that  parish  and  of  Portbury,  had  de- 
livered a  scurrilous  Jacobite  tirade,  denouncing  William  III 
and  George  I.  as  usurpers,  denying  the  validity  of  laws  to 
which  "the  rightful  king"  had  given  no  assent,  and  declar- 
ing that  the  country  was  doomed  to  misfortune  until  James 
III.,  whom  he  called  "his  master,"  was  restored.  The 
mayor  hastened  to  forward  this  information  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  latter  was  equally  alert  in  ordering  the  arrest 
of  the  culprit.  It  appeared  that  Bi?se,  who  had  taken  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  George  I.,  had  repented  of  his  submission, 
and  had  sought  to  appease  his  conscience  by  venting  seditious 
opinions  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Five  treasonable 
discourses  were  reported  against  him,  and  for  these  he  was 
arraigned  and  convicted  at  the  following  assizes  for  Bucks, 
Wilts,  and  Somerset.  In  November  he  was  brought  up  for 
.judgment,  and  was  ordered  to  be  imprisoned  for  four  years, 
to  be  exposed  twice  in  the  pillory,  and  to  be  fined  £600. 
As  he  had  taken  the  oath,  he  could  not  be  deprived  of  his 
livings,  which  he  held  for  several  years. 

The  evils  of  mendicancy  were  a  chronic  source  of  trouble 
to  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor.  In  their  earlier  days  the 
guardians,  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  sentenced 
incorrigible  vagrants  to  three  years*  hard  labour  in  Bridewell. 
Having  abandoned  this  course,  the  board,  in  1718,  requested 
the  churchwardens  and  elected  guardians  to  meet  at  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  seize  all  beggars  they  could  lay  their  hands 
upon,  and  carry  them  before  a  magistrate.  This  practice 
also  became  obsolete,  and  in  1726  the  court  ordered  its  two 
beadles  to  arrest  all  vagrants,  and  "  bring  them  to  this  house  ; 
and  that  they  do  not  go  to  the  Tolzey  or  Council  House  any 
more.''  The  magistrates  could  scarcely  have  been  complained 
of  for  excessive  lenity.  In  March,  1729,  Mary  Edwards,  an 
incorrigible  vagrant,  was  sentenced  to  three  years'  hard 
labour  in  Bridewell. 

Mr.  John  Day,  mayor,  died  suddenly  from  apoplexy  on 


122  THK  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1718. 

the  20th  June,  1718.  His  funeral,  which  was  attended  by 
nearly  every  person  of  note  in  the  city,  took  place  about  mid- 
night, and  was  the  most  imposing  ever  witnessed.  The 
growing  wealth  of  the  mercantile  class  was  displayed  in  the 
long  procession  of  private  coaches,  a  luxury  which  had  be- 
come fashionable  amongst  wealthy  merchants.  It  is  recorded 
that  upwards  of  fifty  carriages  followed  the  remains  from 
Queen  Square  to  St.  Werburgh's  church,  and  that  nearly  600 
persons  were  presented  with  gloves.  On  the  26th  the  Coun- 
cil assembled  to  fill  the  civic  chair,  and  the  minutes  record 
the  ceremonial,  stating  that  it  was  dictated  by  the  "  presi- 
dent" of  1607.  The  sheriffs  having  obtained  from  Mrs. 
Day  the  deceased's  insignia  of  office,  **  the  Mayor's  Sword, 
with  the  Scabbard  presented  to  him  by  the  present  Sheriffs 
the  Sword  of  State,  the  Sunday's  Sword,  and  the  Mourning 
Sword,  the  two  Charters  and  boxes,  the  Red  Book  of 
Ordinances,  both  parts  of  the  Seal  of  the  Statute  Merchant, 
the  Mayor's  Pocket  Seal  of  office,  the  Keys  belonging  to  the 
Mayor  as  Clavinger  or  otherwise  (sic)  of  the  great  Chest  at 
the  Tolzey  wherein  the  City  Seals  and  the  Iron  Caskett  are 
kept,"  were  laid  upon  the  table.  Thomas  Clement  was  then 
elected  chief  magistrate  for  the  remainder  of  the  civic  year ; 
whereupon,  "  the  whole  House,  being  all  in  their  black 
Gownes,  removed  from  St.  George's  Chappell  into  the  Guild- 
hall, where  Nicholas  Hickes  Esq.,  the  last  Mayor  living,  was 
by  the  House  called  to  the  Chair."  The  usual  oaths  were . 
then  taken.  "  After  which  all  the  Insignia  were  in  the  usual 
manner  delivered  to  Mr.  Mayor,  whereupon  the  attending 
Company  were  ordered  to  withdraw.  And  the  new  Mayor 
with  the  Sword  before  him  was  attended  in  the  same  form 
in  Black  Gownes  to  the  Tolzey,  where  they  all  separated." 

The  Historical  Register  for  1718  records,  under  the  19th 
August,  the  death  of  Sir  Edward  Longueville,  Bart., 
"  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  as  he  was  riding  a  horse- 
race near  Bristol."  This  appears  to  be  the  first  printed 
record  of  the  annual  gathering  on  Durdham  Down.  Farley^ s 
Bristol  Newspaper  of  October  9th,  1726,  announces  that  a 
velvet  saddle,  value  £5,  would  be  run  for  on  the  following 
Friday,  "  the  best  of  three  heats,  two  miles  each,"  after 
which  a  laced  Holland  smock  would  be  run  for  by  maidens, 
"on  the  same  Down,  near  the  Ostridge." 

Amongst  the  fashionable  company  which  visited  the  Hot 
Well  in  the  autumn  of  1718  was  Joseph  Addison,  who  had 
just  resigned  a  high  office  in  the  Ministry,  but  is  now  better 
known  as  the  most  distinguished  of  English  essayists.     The 


1718-19.]        JN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  123 

locality  may  have  been  familiar  to  him  in  early  life,  for  his 
mother  was  a  sister  of  Dr.  Goulston,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  and, 
according  to  Mr.  Seyers's  MSS.,  he  offered  during  this  visit 
to  promote  the  interests  of  two  youths,  sons  of  a  near  relative 
named  Addison,  a  merchant  in  the  city.  In  a  letter  to  Swift, 
dated  "Bristol,  Oct.  1, 1718,"  Addison  wrote  :—"  The  greatest 
pleasure  I  have  met  with  for  some  months  is  in  the  conver- 
sation of  my  old  friend  Dr.  Smalridge  "  (Bishop  of  Bristol), 
"  who  is  to  me  the  most  candid  and  agreeable  of  all  bishops. 
.  .  .  We  have  often  talked  of  you."  The  two  friends 
were  in  declining  health,  and  botn  died  in  the  following 
year.  Owing  to  the  inadequate  income  of  the  see,  the 
bishop's  wife  and  three  children  were  left  in  penury,  but 
they  found  a  zealous  patron  in  the  Princess  of  Wales,  after- 
wards Queen  Caroline,  who  obtained  a  pension  for  the  widow 
and  preferments  for  the  sons. 

The  Recorder,  Sir  Robert  Eyre,  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
King's  Bench,  having  scrupled  to  receive  the  small  yearly 
salary  attached  to  his  civic  office,  the  Council,  in  November, 
1718,  forwarded  one  hundred  guineas  to  Sir  William  Daines, 
M.P.,  to  "  make  a  present "  to  Lady  Eyre.  The  gift  was 
renewed  three  years  later,  when  Sir  William  was  repaid 
ICte.  6d.  for  a  purse  he  had  purchased  "  to  make  the  city's 
present  more  acceptable  to  ye  lady." 

The  existence  of  a  local  cotton  manufactory  seems  attested 
by  a  corporate  minute  of  December,  1718,  noting  the  admis- 
sion to  the  freedom  of  a  "calico  printer."  Another  man 
admitted  the  same  day  is  styled  a  "  translator,"  which  Lord 
Macaulay,  in  replying  to  a  local  inquirer,  supposed  to  mean 
a  foreign  interpreter,  but  who  was  really  a  cobbler  who 
converted  old  boots  into  shoes.  Amongst  other  trades  re- 
corded in  the  freemen's  admission-book  about  this  time  are 
found  whisk-binders,  stuff  makers,  lace  weavers,  wool 
combers,  drugget  weavers,  bellows  makers,  steel-mill  makers, 
needle  makers,  clog  makers,  framework  knitters,  scribes,  a 
fan  maker,  com  badgers  (travelling  dealers),  velvet  weavers, 
and  a  vice  maker.  The  last  named,  in  consequence  of  the 
utility  of  his  trade,  was  charged  only  40«.  on  becoming  a 
burgess.  In  1722  Mr.  John  Jones  was  admitted  to  the 
freedom  gratis,  on  account  of  his  skill  as  a  teacher  of  writ- 
ing, and  his  ability  as  an  author  of  treatises  on  arithmetic 
and  book-keeping. 

The  bitterness  of  party  feeling  at  this  period  is  indicated 
by  the  minute  books  of  the  poor  law  guardians.  When  the 
board  was  first  formed,  the  Council  granted  it  the  use,  rent 


124  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1719. 

free,  of  Whitehall,  for  the  purpose  of  employing  children  in 
spinning.  This  industry,  proving  unprofitable,  was  given 
up,  but  in  February,  1719,  when  the  Corporation  demanded 
re-possession  of  the  building,  the  guardians  impudently 
required  the  Council  to  prove  its  right  to  the  property.  The 
Chamber,  again,  had  paid  the  expense  of  obtaining  two 
Acts  of  Parliament  for  the  board,  and  had  lent  it  large  sums 
of  money  free  from  interest.  At  this  date  upwards  of 
£2,100  were  due  on  these  loans,  most  of  which  had  been 
outstanding  for  over  ten  years.  But  when  the  Council  re- 
quested two  years'  interest  on  the  Shirehampton  mortgage, 
according  to  the  bargain  made  in  1710,  the  guardians,  or  at 
least  the  Tory  majority,  flatly  repudiated  the  liability. 
Legal  measures  were  taken  for  the  recovery  of  Whitehall, 
and  the  guardians  sulkily  came  to  terms  respecting  the 
loans.  In  1723,  when  a  mortgage  of  £600  on  St.  Peter's 
Hospital  was  paid  off,  the  civic  body  generously  remitted  , 
the  heavy  arrears  of  interest. 

A  letter  dated  the  6th  April,  1719,  illustrative  of  the 
system  of  political  patronage  in  the  Georgian  era,  is  amongst 
the  Treasury  Papers.  Sir  William  Daines,  addressing  the 
board,  asserts  that  he  had  represented  Bristol  in  Parliament 
for  about  twenty  years,  at  a  cost  of  above  £10,000.  As  a 
trifling  compensation,  he  prays  that  his  sister's  son,  Thomas 
Cary,  may  be  appointed  a  landing- waiter  in  the  Custom 
House.  The  application  was  ordered  to  be  acceded  to 
"  upon  a  vacancy." 

In  1719  the  woollen  manufacturers  of  the  kingdom,  dis- 
satisfied with  the  restrictions  already  placed  on  lighter 
textile  materials,  raised  a  strong  agitation  against  the  use 
of  printed  calicoes  and  linen,  the  popularity  of  which,  they 
asserted,  threatened  them  with  ruin.  In  December  the 
weavers  of  Bristol  petitioned  Parliament  for  relief  on  "  be- 
half of  many  thousands  "  locally  employed  in  woollen  manu- 
factures, alleging  that  most  of  them  were  destitute  owing 
to  the  growing  taste  for  lighter  fabrics.  Similar  appeals 
were  made  by  the  Corporation,  the  merchants  of  the  city, 
the  weavers  of  Bedminster,  Barton  Eegis,  Keynsham,  and 
Chew  Magna.  Being  in  consonance  with  the  ideas  of  the 
age,  the  cry  of  the  clothiers  met  with  sympathy  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  a  Bill  to  prohibit  the  obnoxious 
foreign  imports  was  passed,  in  despite  of  the  protests  of  the 
linen  interest.  The  measure  was  rejected  by  the  Lords,  but 
in  1720  the  peers  also  yielded  to  the  pressure,  and  an  iden- 
tical scheme  became  law.     It  enacted  that,  after  a  delay  of 


1719-20.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  l2  5 

two  years,  any  person  wearing  a  garment  of  printed  calico, 
foreign  linen,  or  coloured  linen  mixed  with  cotton,  should 
be  liable  to  a  fine  of  £B.  The  use  of  coloured  calico  or 
mixed  goods  for  bed  curtains  rendered  the  offender  liable  to 
a  fine  of  £20.  An  attempt  to  exempt  home-made  calico  of 
which  the  raw  material  was  grown  in  our  colonies  was 
defeated,  but  by  special  favour  the  Act  exempted  such 
calicoes  as  were  dyed  "all  blue."  The  Bristol  weavers 
attempted  to  put  this  statute  into  operation  by  means  of 
brute  force.  On  the  8th  July  an  exciseman  and  his  wife, 
whilst  walking  through  the  city,  were  set  upon  by  a  party 
of  weavers,  who  tore  the  woman's  calico  gown  oflf  her  per- 
son. As  they  were  continuing  to  insult  her,  the  husband 
stabbed  one  of  the  ruffians,  who  died  soon  afterwards.  A 
gentleman's  daughter  was  treated  with  similar  indignity, 
and  was  left  nearly  naked  in  the  streets  {London  Journal^ 
July  16th,  1720).  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
above  legislation  prevented  Bristol  from  becoming  the  chief 
seat  of  English  cotton  factories,  for  which  the  city  then  pos- 
sessed unrivalled  advantages.  The  cotton  produced  in  the 
West  Indies  was  mainly  brought  here.  It  was  not  until  1758 
that  any  Jamaica  cotton  was  imported  into  Liverpool. — To 
appease  the  discontent  of  the  local  makers  of  needle-worked 
buttons,  another  Act  was  passed  in  1720,  imposing  a  penalty 
of  40*.  a  dozen  on  any  person  wearing  clothes  of  which  the 
buttons  were  made  of  cloth  ! 

The  Company  of  Weavers  and  Dyers  petitioned  the  Cor- 
poration in  December,  1719,  representing  "  the  serious  in- 
convenience to  their  woollen  manufacture  by  the  foulness  of 
the  water  at  the  Horse  poole,  near  the  Wear  Bridge,  by  the 
frequent  washing  of  horses  there — the  only  place  the 
petitioners  have  to  wash  their  goods.''  In  spite  of  the  latter 
remarkable  statement,  the  Chamber  seems  to  have  taken  no 
action. 

Owing  to  a  great  inundation  of  the  Froom  on  the  17th 
and  18th  May,  1720,  Earl's  Mead  was  several  feet  under 
water,  which  "  rose  as  high  as  the  wall  at  the  Ducking 
Stool."  Broadmead  and  Merchant  Street  were  flooded  for 
some  hours. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  August,  1720,  it  was  re- 
solved that  Bridewell,  a  mean  and  inconvenient  edifice, 
should  be  demolished  and  rebuilt.  The  new  prison,  which 
was  no  great  improvement  upon  its  predecessor,  was  finished 
in  the  following  year,  at  a  cost  of  about  £1,040.  It  was 
destroyed  in   the    riots  of    1831.      The   condition  of    the 


126  THE    ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1720. 

prisoners  in  Newgate  came  also  before  the  Chamber,  "  a 
raging  distemper  "  having  caused  many  deaths.  Nothing 
was  done  to  improve  the  sanitarj'^  state  of  the  gaol,  but  Dr. 
Chauncey,  who  had  voluntarily  attended  several  of  the 
victims,  was  presented  with  a  piece  of  plate,  which  cost  £21, 
and  an  apothecary  received  £26  for  supplying  drugs. 

For  many  previous  generations  it  had  been  the  custom  of 
the  Corporation  to  attend  divine  service  at  the  Cathedral, 
except  on  stated  festivals  when  visits  were  paid  to  certain 
parish  churches.     No  inconvenience  had  therefore  resulted 
from   the  grant  of  St.   Mark's  Chapel   to   the  Huguenot 
refugees  in  ihe  reign  of  James  II.    The  growing  wealth  and 
love  of  display  of  the  Corporation,  however,  brought  about 
new  arrangements.     In  September,  1720,  the  Chamber  gave 
orders  that  "  the  Gaunts  Chapel  "  should  be  repaired  and 
beautified.     For  some  reason  this  resolution  led  to  no  im- 
mediate action.     But  in  October,  1721,  the  mayor,  address- 
ing the  Council,  "  mentioned  the  affront  the  city  had  lately 
received  from  the  dean  and  chapter,  and  recommended  the 
repairing,  new  pewing,  beautifying,  and  adorning"  of  St. 
Mark's,  with  a  view  to  its  constant  use  as  a  civic  place  of 
worship.     Fresh  orders  were  thereupon  given  and  rapidly 
carried  out.     Happily  for  the  fabric,  the  beautifying  and 
adorning  involved  less  destruction  than  was  then  common. 
The  worst  deformity  was  an  ugly  gallery,  erected  against 
the  great  west  window.     In  April,  1722,  when  the  altera- 
tions were  nearly  finished,  the   mayor    suggested   to   the 
Chamber  that  if  the  four  bells  in  the  tower  were  recast  and 
the  number  increased  to  six,  **  it  would  be  for  the  grandeur 
of  the  city,"  and  his  hint  was  at  once  adopted.     The  reno- 
vated building,  henceforth  called  the  Mayor's  Chapel,  was 
probably  opened  for  service  in  the   following  September, 
when  the  Council  empowered  the  mayor  for  the  time  being 
to  appoint  a  clergyman  to  preach  on  such  Sundays  as  his 
worship  should  think   proper ;    the  chamberlain  receiving 
instructions  to  pay  lOs.  for  each  sermon.     (This  fee  was 
raised  to  20«.  in  1726,  and  to  21«.  in  1738,  the  latter  advance 
being  made  because  20it,  was  "  not  so  genteel  a  satisfaction 
as  a  guinea.")      The  Rev.  A.  S.  Catcott  read  prayers,  for 
which  he  received  bs.  a  week  until  1729,  when  his  salary 
was  fixed  at  £20  per  annum.    A  deplorable  act  of  vandalism 
was  ordered  in  February,  1725.     The  mayor  having  alleged 
that  the  "  altar  piece  "  of  the  chapel  needed  "  beautifying," 
the  Chamber  permitted  him  to  display  his  taste,  and  the 
result  was  the  mutilation  of  the  ancient  reredos  in  order  to 


k 


1720-21.]        IN  THE  EIGUTEENTH  CENTURY.  127 

introduce  a  huge  oaken  screen  carved  in  the  Dutch  Corin- 
thian style.  The  "  adornment  "  seems  to  have  been  finished 
in  1729,  when  a  marble  "  altar  piece,"  costing  £80,  was 
added.  The  total  cost  of  the  alterations  was  about  £650, 
exclusive  of  £190  for  bells. 

The  great  South  Sea  "  bubble  "  burst  in  1720,  scattering 
desolation  and  ruin  throughout  the  kingdom.  Amongst 
the  victims  was  Dr.  Boulter,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  who  in  a 
letter  to  a  member  of  the  Government,  dated  October  11th, 
writes,  "  In  the  general  ruin  I  have  lost  the  little  imaginary 
wealth  I  took  myself  to  be  master  of  '*  (State  Papers). 
Many  prosperous  Bristolians  were  reduced  to  bankruptcy, 
amongst  them  the  mayor,  Abraham  Elton,  jun.,  who  "  sub- 
mitted to  the  fate,  and  withdrew  into  France  as  soon  as  out 
of  office  V  (Tucker's  MS.). 

Some  documents  in  the  State  Paper  Office  under  the  year 
1721  bring  to  light  the  existence  of  a  trade  carried  on  by 
Bristol  merchants  of  which  no  inkling  can  be  obtained  from 
ordinary  sources  of  information.  The  vessels  which  left  the 
Avon  to  transport  slaves  to  the  West  Indies  were  all  osten- 
sibly bound  to  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  many  of  them  secretly  proceeded  to  Madagascar,  then 
a  great  resort  of  smugglers  trafficking  with  India,  where 
slaves  could  be  obtained  at  much  cheaper  rates  than  pre- 
vailed in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  The  clandestine  traffic  was 
by  some  means  discovered  by  George  Benyon,  a  landing- 
waiter  in  the  Custom  House  at  Bristol,  who  acquainted  the 
East  India  Company  of  the  infringement  of  its  monopoly  in 
the  Indian  Ocean ;  and  the  company,  in  great  wrath,  ap- 
pealed to  the  Government.  Compassion  for  the  unfortunate 
beings  torn  from  their  families  and  country  had  of  course 
nothing  to  do  with  the  company's  indignation.  What 
aroused  its  ire  was  the  conveyance  of  arms  and  stores  to 
Madagascar,  whence  they  were  brought  into  competition,  by 
80  called  "  pirates,"  with  the  goods  forwarded  from  London 
direct  to  India.  The  Government  responded  to  the  cx)m- 
pany's  demand  for  the  protection  of  its  privileges  by  issuing 
an  Order  in  Council  on  the  2nd  October,  1721,  forbidding 
any  interference  by  private  merchants  in  the  trade  with 
Madagascar,  and  probably  measures  were  taken  at  the  Cus- 
tom Houses  for  checking  clandestine  adventures.  Amongst 
the  Treasury  Papers  for  1725  is  a  memorial  from  the  East 
India  Company  praying*  that  Benyon  might  be  promoted, 
and  also  protected  from  the  resentment  of  the  merchants 
whose  profits  had  been  curtailed.     The  first  avowal  of  the 


128  THE  ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL  [1721. 

illicit  traffic  was  made  about  thirty  years  later  by  William 
Beckford,  one  of  the  slave  kings  of  Jamaica,  whose  brother 
Richard  was  shortly  afterwards  elected  one  of  the  members 
of  Parliament  for  Bristol.  Speaking  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1762,  Beckford  said,  **  Many  gentlemen  here  know 
that  formerly  the  sugar  colonies  were  supplied  with  negroes 
from  Madagascar,  a  vast  island  abounding  with  slaves,  from 
whence  the  colonies  drew  large  quantities  till  the  East 
India  Company  interfered  and  prevented  private  traders 
from  carrying  on  a  commerce  which  they  despised." 

John  Oliffe,  vintner,  a  former  member  of  the  Corporation, 
petitioned  the  Council  in  August,  1721,  to  grant  him  some 
relief,  having  been  "  reduced  by  losses  to  great  necessity." 
An  annuity  of  £20  was  granted,  £5  being  paid  in  advance 
owing  to  the  extreme  distress  of  the  applicant.  Oliffe  was 
probably  a  descendant  of  Ralph  Oliffe,  a  mayor  who  gained 
an  infamous  notoriety  for  harrying  Dissenters  in  Charles  the 
Second's  reign.  (The  granting  of  money  to  impoverished 
aldermen  or  councillors  was  a  common  practice  of  English 
corporations.  In  1712  one  Alderman  Hoar,  of  Hull,  being 
greatly  emban-assed,  the  Common  Council  "supplied  him 
with  money  for  the  payment  of  his  creditors "  (Tickell's 
History  of  Hull,  p.  B97). 

Another  death  of  "a  mayor  (Henry  Watts)  occurred  on  the 
19th  September,  and  owing  to  peculiar  circumstances  caused 
much  embarrassment.  A  commission  of  gaol  delivery  had 
issued,  and  the  assize  was  fixed  for  the  20th  September;  but 
the  proceedings  would  be  informal  unless  "the  mayor"  were 
present.  A  new  mayor  had  been  elected  on  the  15th,  but 
by  the  charter  of  Queen  Anne  the  next  chief  magistrate 
could  not  enter  upon  his  functions  until  Michaelmas  Day. 
The  Council  was  therefore  hurriedly  summoned  to  meet  on 
the  20th,  when  Sir  Abraham  Elton  was  elected  to  fill  the 
chair  for  the  intervening  nine  days.  The  ceremonies  at- 
tending the  transfer  of  the  regalia  (see  p.  122)  were  again 
scrupulously  performed. 

Reference  has  been  already  mada  to  the  civic  sport  of 
duck-huntine:.  whi^h  was  for  many  generations  an  incident 
of  the  annual  perambulation  of  the  city  boundaries.  About 
1710  the  chief  members  of  the  Corporation  seem  to  have 
thought  a  regular  attendance  at  this  function  beneath  their 
dignity,  and  when  the  mayor  was  not  present  the  duck-hunt 
was  omitted.  After  a  purchase  of  ducks  in  1721,  the  item 
does  not  occur  again  until  1738.  Six  birds  were  usually 
sacrificed,  but  in  1742,  the  latest  hunt  recorded,  nineteen 


I 


1721.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  129 

unfortunate  ducks  were  purchased  for  the  amusement  of  the 
worshipful  spectators. 

The  salaries  of  the  two  civic  coroners  had  been  fixed  at 
the  paltry  sum  of  £6  13«.  4d,  each  many  years  before  this 
date.  As  a  natural  result,  the  duties  had  been  often  unsatis- 
factorily performed,  and  in  1716,  when  both  coronerships 
were  vacant,  the  Council  minutes  state  that  the  office  had 
"  become  contemptible."  More  efficient  persons  were  secured, 
but  the  new  functionaries  soon  became  discontented  with 
their  stipends,  and  in  October,  1721,  they  prayed  for  an  ad- 
vance, owing  to  the  "  great  enlargement  of  the  city."  The 
Council  thought  they  would  be  fairly  remunerated  if  the 
payment  were  raised  to  £10.  One  of  the  coroners  died 
about  six  months  afterwards,  when  the  candidates  who 
offered  themselves  for  the  vacancy  consisted  of  two  '*  mar- 
riners,"  a  brewer,  a  linen  draper,  and  a  "  gentleman,"  the 
last  of  whom  was  elected.  So  late  as  1766,  one  of  the 
coroners  held  the  mean  office  of  keeper  of  the  city  scales,  at 
St.  Peter's  Pump. 

Edward  Colston,  whose  munificent  gifts  for  educational 
purposes  have  been  already  recorded,  died  at  his  residence, 
Mortlake,  near  London,  on  the  11th  October,  1721,  in  his 
86th  year.  In  pursuance  of  his  instructions,  his  remains 
were  removed  to  Bristol  for  interment  in  the  ancestral  vault 
at  All  Saints'  Church.  The  funeral  procession,  which  was 
a  week  or  ten  days  upon  the  road,  consisted  of  a  hearse  with 
six  horses,  covered  with  plumes  and  velvet,  and  attended  by 
eight  horsemen  in  black  cloaks,  bearing  banners ;  and  three 
mourning  coaches  with  six  horses  to  each.  At  the  resting 
places  on  the  way,  a  room  was  hung  with  black,  garnished 
with  silver  shields  and  escutcheons,  while  upwards  of  fifty 
wax  candles  in  silver  candlesticks  and  sconces  were  placed 
around  the  coffin,  covered  with  a  silver-edged  velvet  pall. 
The  gloomy  cavalcade  reached  Lawford's  Gate  on  the  night  of 
the  27th  October,  where  it  was  met  by  the  boys  of  deceased's 
schools  in  St.  Augustine's  and  Temple,  the  almspeople  in  the 
hospital  on  St.  Michael's  Hill,  and  the  old  sailors  maintained 
at  Colston's  charge  in  the  Merchants'  Almshouse.  (The 
thirty  old  people  received  new  clothes  for  the  occasion.) 
The  procession,  accompanied  by  torches,  with  the  schoolboys 
singing  psalms,  made  its  way  to  the  church  amidst  con- 
tinuous torrents  of  rain,  and  the  interment  took  place  about 
midnight,  in  the  presence  of  as  many  persons  as  could  crush 
into  the  building.  The  bells  of  the  various  parish  churches 
tolled  for  sixteen  hours  on  the  day  appointed  for  the  funeral. 

K 


130  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1722. 

A  portrait  of  Mr.  Colston,  engraved  by  Virtue,  was  published 
in  London  in  1722. 

The  precept  to  set  a  thief  to  catch  a  thief  was  literally 
adopted  at  this  period  by  the  local  authorities.  The  London 
Daily  Journal  of  November  2nd,  1721,  says : — "  They  write 
from  Bath  and  Bristol  that  their  roads  are  much  infested 
with  robbers,  and  that  application  having  been  made  to 
Jonathan  Wild,  that  gentleman  (!)  has  resolved  to  take  a 
tour  towards  those  cities  as  soon  as  his  equipages  can  be  got 
ready."  It  will  be  seen  presently  that  the  following  assizes 
at  Gloucester  brought  several  robbers  to  the  scaffold. 

The  first  notice  of  the  existence  of  hackney  coaches  in 
the  city  occurs  in  the  minutes  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Ses- 
sions for  Januar}^,  1722,  when  a  hackney  coachman  was 
charged  with  assaulting  Alderman  Mountjoy.  The  carriages 
did  not  stand  in  the  streets,  but  were  kept  in  the  yards  of 
some  of  the  principal  inns.  Glass  being  expensive,  the 
windows  of  London  hackney  coaches  were  filled  with  tin 
plates  '*  pricked  like  a  cullender,"  and  it  is  imlikely  that,  the 
Bristol  vehicles  were  better  supplied.  In  December,  1741, 
the  Common  Council  directed  the  chamberlain  to  provide 
great  coats  and  laced  hats  for  three  hackney  coachmen,  "  to 
attend  this  Corporation  on  publick  days  or  occasions."  In 
1749  the  Chamber  obtained  Parliamentary  authority  to  regu- 
late hackney  coaches.  With  characteristic  supineness,  the 
Council  allowed  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  pass 
away  before  putting  its  powers  into  execution.  Ignorant  of 
these  facts,  some  local  histories  assert  that  hackney  coaches 
were  not  established  here  until  1784. 

Four  local  malefactors — three  convicted  of  robberies  in  St. 
Philip's  out-parish  and  one  of  a  similar  crime  near  Redland — 
were  executed  at  Gloucester  on  the  21st  March,  1722.  Pre- 
vious to  their  trials  these  men,  with  other  desperate  felons, 
having  resolved  to  murder  the  turnkey  of  the  prison  and 
escape,  requested  a  confederate  outside  to  bring  to  the  gaol 
a  large  pie,  as  if  from  some  charitable  persons  in  the  city, 
within  which  he  was  to  conceal  pocket  pistols,  ammunition, 
chisels,  etc.  The  conspiracy  was,  however,  exposed  by  one 
of  the  prisoners. 

The  first  se])tennial  Parliament  expired  in  the  spring  of 
1722,  and  the  election  of  members  for  Bristol  opened  on  the 
28th  March.  Sir  William  Daines  retired,  owing  to  failing 
health,  but  Mr.  Joseph  Earle  solicited  re-election,  and  Sir 
Abraham  Elton  came  forward  on  similar  principles.  The 
Tory  candidate  was   Mr.  William   Hart,  who  scarcely  at- 


1722.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  131 

tempted  to  conceal  his  Jacobite  sympathies.  At  the  close  of 
the  poll,  on  the  3rd  April,  the  numbers  were :  Mr.  Earle, 
2,141;  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  1,869;  Mr.  Hart,  1,743.  This 
was  the  first  occasion  on  which  a  "poll-book"  was  published, 
showing  the  votes  given  by  each  burgess.  This  exceedingly 
rare  pamphlet  was  printed  by  "  Joseph  Penn,  bookseller,  in 
Wine  Street."  There  were  only  22  electors  living  in  the 
parish  of  Clifton,  all  of  whom  were  artisans  except  John 
Baskerville,  gentleman,  Thomas  Garland,  mercer,  Thomas 
Hungerford,  draper,  Edward  Jones,  merchant,  Charles  Jones 
jun.,  merchant,  and  John  Williams,  grocer.  Mr.  Hart  peti- 
tioned against  the  return,  alleging  that  he  had  more  legal 
votes  than  Sir  A.  Elton,  who,  being  an  alderman,  deterred 
many  from  voting  by  using  violent  threats,  bribed  others, 
and  brought  up  many  to  poll  who  had  no  right  to  the 
franchise.  The  petitioner  apparently  produced  no  evidence, 
and  his  claim  fell  to  the  ground.  Sir  William  Daines  died 
in  the  autumn  of  1724,  and  a  London  news  letter  of  Sep- 
tember 19th  mentions  a  report  that  the  prosperous  Bristolian 
had  left  his  son-in-law.  Lord  Barrington,  £60,000 — an  enor- 
mous sum  in  those  days.  But  unless  the  statement  refers  to 
landed  estates  settled  on  the  viscount's  marriage,  it  is  incor- 
rect. By  his  will  Sir  William  bequeathed  £10,000  each  to 
the  families  of  his  two  daughters. 

The  extreme  narrowness  of  the  streets  occasioned  frequent 
minutes  in  the  municipal  records.  On  the  1st  May,  1722, 
an  agreement  was  made  with  Abraham  Harris,  *^  search 
maker^'  who  was  about  to  rebuild  his  house  in  Nicholas 
Street,  whereby  he  agreed  to  set  back  the  premises,  so  that 
the  street  in  front  might  be  14  feet  8i  inches,  and  at  the 
corner  facing  the  church  13  feet  3  inches,  in  width.  The 
breadth  previous  to  this  improvement  is  unfortunately  not 
recorded.  Thirty  years  later  is  a  corporate  minute  referring 
to  the  width  of  the  other  end  of  the  same  street ;  the  Council 
ordering,  in  May,  17B4,  that  when  a  lease  should  be  granted 
of  a  house  at  the  corner  of  Corn  Street,  the  entrance  into 
Nicholas  Street  should  be  made  not  less  than  16  feet  in  width. 

Amongst  the  strangest  engines  of  punishment  devised  by 
our  ancestors  was  the  trebuchet  or  ducking  stool,  an  instru- 
ment which,  with  its  companion  the  pillory,  was  required 
by  law  to  be  maintained  in  hundreds  of  manors  in  England. 
The  ducking  stool  was  originally  devised  for  the  castigation 
of  brewers  and  bakers  who  used  false  weights  and  measures, 
or  sold  an  adulterated  article,  and  also  for  punishing  common 
scolds,  convicted  by  a  jury  of  being  public  nuisances.     In 


132  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1722. 

course  of  time,  roguish  traders  contrived  to  escape  by  paying 
fines,  but  the  stool  was  still  maintained  for  the  correction  of 
vixenish  females.  The  Bristol  instrument  was  probably 
somewhat  similar  to  that  still  preserved  at  Warwick.  A 
strong  wooden  chair  was  fastened  upon  the  end  of  a  long 
beam,  which  worked  like  a  see-saw  on  a  post  fixed  at  the 
edge  of  a  pool  in  the  Froom,  near  Castle  Ditch.  A  scold 
was  strapped  into  the  chair,  which  was  then  whirled  over 
the  river,  and  on  the  shaft  being  tilted  up  the  culprit  was 
plurged  into  the  stream.  Three  duckings  were  administered 
to  each  culprit.  When  the  Stewarts  came  to  **  their  own 
again "  in  1660,  the  Corporation  ordered  a  new  ducking 
stool — which  cost  £2  12s,  6d. — to  do  honour  to  the  event, 
and  a  few  years  later  there  is  a  record  of  four  women  being 
ducked  within  a  twelvemonth.  In  1692  the  engine  was  re- 
newed and  "  coloured,^*  at  an  outlay  of  308,  Unfortunately 
many  of  the  sessions  books  about  that  period  have  been  lost, 
and  the  fate  of  contemporary  scolds  is  unknown.  In  1716 
an  indictment  was  found  against  one  Susannah  Morgan  as  a 
common  scold,  and  she  was  committed  for  trial,  but  the 
volume  recording  her  fate  has  disappeared.  In  August, 
1722,  Maria  Lamb  was  convicted  before  the  mayor,  Sir 
William  Daines,  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  and  other  aldermen, 
who  ordered  *^  that  she  be  ducked  to-morrow  at  twelve  of 
the  clock  in  the  common  Ducking  Stool,  and  remain  in  cus- 
tody till  the  same  be  done."  No  details  as  to  her  ducking 
have  been  preserved,  every  copy  of  the  local  newspaper  of 
the  week  having  perished.  In  March,  1723,  one  Susannah 
Tyler  was  found  guilty  of  the  same  offence,  but  judgment 
was  respited  until  the  next  court,  and  the  culprit  liberated 
on  bail.  Susannah  was  no  sooner  free  than  she  fled  from  the 
city,  and  her  sureties  were  ordered  to  be  prosecuted.  Even- 
tually the  scold  surrendered,  and  then  all  trace  of  her  case 
mysteriously  disappears.  In  1730,  and  again  in  1731,  a  woman 
was  brought  up  and  solemnly  tried  for  objurgating  propensi- 
ties, but  in  both  cases  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  not  guilty. 
Although  these  appear  to  be  the  last  local  instances  of  judi- 
cial proceedings,  the  authorities  continued  to  keep  the  in- 
strument of  punishment  in  good  order.  So  late  as  September, 
1754,  Daniel  Millard,  carpenter,  was  paid  £9  8s.  "for  making 
the  Ducking  Stool.'^  At  that  time  the  Westminster  ducking 
stool  stood  in  the  Green  Park;  and  Blackstone's  Commen- 
taries, published  in  1766,  contain  nothing  to  indicate  that 
the  engine  was  then  regarded  as  obsolete.  Mr.  Bellamy, 
clerk   of   assize   on  the   Oxford  Circuit,  who  attended  the 


1722.]  IN  THI  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUAY.  133 

assizes  at  Gloucester  for  sixty  years,  and  who  died  in  1846, 
told  a  friend  (Wiltshire  Magazine,  i.  74)  that  the  remains  of 
ducking  stools  were  to  be  seen  at  the  sides  of  nxany  village 
ponds  when  he  first  practised  on  the  circuit.  (The  story 
recorded  in  Evans's  Chronological  History,  under  1718,  is 
apocryphal.) 

An  extreme  dearth  of  copper  coin  existed  at  this  date  in 
Ireland,  where  employers  were  often  obliged  to  pay  their 
workmen  with  card  tokens,  or  in  counterfeit  halfpence  worth 
less  than  half  a  farthing.  The  Scotch,  at  the  Union,  had 
insisted  on  the  maintenance  of  a  mint  at  Edinburgh,  but  no 
similar  institution  existed  in  Ireland,  and  such  issues  of 
coin  as  had  taken  place  there  were  made  by  private  persons, 
to  whom  patents  were  granted  rather  for  their  private  profit 
than  the  public  good.  Following  these  precedents,  the 
urgent  needs  of  the  Irish  were  in  1722  made  the  basis  erf 
a  job.  The  privilege  of  supplying  a  new  coinage  was 
granted  to  the  Duchess  of  Kendal,  one  of  the  King's  mis- 
tresses, who  sold  the  patent  to  William  Wood,  an  iron  and 
copper  manufacturer  at  Wolverhampton.  A  Treasury  war- 
rant of  the  31st  August  authorised  Wood  to  establish  "  his 
office ''  at  or  near  Bristol.  By  the  terms  of  the  grant,  a 
pound  of  copper,  worth  13d.,  was  to  be  coined  into  halfpence 
and  farthings  of  the  nominal  value  of  2s.  6d.  The  English 
coinage  value  of  a  pound  of  copper  was  Is,  lid.  To  make 
the  profits  still  greater,  the  patentee  was  allowed  to  coin  to 
the  value  of  £100,000,  though  the  highest  Irish  estimate  of 
the  amount  required  was  only  £16,000.  The  nominal  value 
of  the  coins  minted  by  Wood  in  Bristol  was  £13,480,  exi 
elusive  of  £1,086  in  farthings.  But  meanwhile  the  action 
of  the  Government  had  been  denounced  by  Swift  with 
characteristic  unscrupulousness,  and  his  "  Drapier's  Letters  '' 
lashed  Ireland  into  fury.  It  was  in  vain  that  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  after  sending  down  a  competent  person  to  Bristol 
to  assay  the  halfpence,  demonstrated  that  the  new  coinage 
was  greatly  superior  to  any  previously  circulated  in  the 
island.  It  was  equally  in  vain  that  the  total  amount  allowed 
to  be  coined  was  reduced  to  £40,000.  The  G-overnment 
were  forced  to  withdraw  the  patent,  and  had  to  compensate 
Wood  for  his  lost  profits  by  a  grant  of  £3,000  per  annum  for 
eight  years.  Wood  had  another  patent  for  coining  "  half- 
pence, pence,  and  twopences  for  all  his  Majesty's  dominions 
in  America,'-  and  the  London  Post,  of  January  18th,  1723, 
stated  that  he  was  about  to  mint  those  pieces  at  Bristol. 
They  were  actually  coined,  however,  in  London. 


134  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1722. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  June,  1722,  a  committee 
strongly  condemned  the  training  received  by  the  girls  in 
the  Red  Maids'  School,  the  mistresses  of  which  were  de- 
clared to  be  incapable  to  fulfil  the  duties  confided  to  them. 
The  only  work  on  which  the  children  were  employed  was 
the  "  mean  and  unserviceable  '^  task  of  spinning  wool,  which 
unfitted  them  to  become  good  domestic  servants.  The  re- 
port recommended  that  the  mistresses  should  be  discharged, 
and,  as  the  existing  allowance  to  them  (of  £4  per  girl  per 
annum)  would  not  suffice  to  procure  others  of  better  capacity, 
that  the  yearly  grant  for  each  scholar  (for  food,  clothing, 
and  education)  should  be  raised  to  £7 ;  the  new  mistresses 
to  have  the  profit  of  the  children's  work,  as  before.  In  a 
second  report,  three  months  later,  it  was  suggested  that  the 
forty  girls  should  thenceforth  dwell  in  one  house  under  a 
single  head  mistress,  and  be  furnished  with  new  clothing 
every  two  years.  The  committee's  recommendations  were 
adopted,  but  the  extent  of  the  improvement  eflfected  was 
insignificant.  Down  to  the  end  of  the  century,  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  girls  was  confined  to  reading,  and  some  of  the 
mistresses  could  scarcely  scrawl  their  own  names. 

A  desire  for  increased  pomp  and  display  frequently  crops 
out  in  the  corporate  records.  At  the  meeting  in  June,  1722, 
mentioned  in  the  last  paragraph,  "  Mr.  Mayor  represented 
that  the  maces  born  by  the  sergeants  to  him  and  the 
sherrives  were  much  less  and  meaner  than  what  were  made 
use  of  in  lesser  corporations,  and  moved  that  hee  thought 
twould  be  for  the  honour  of  the  city  to  have  them  made 
larger  and  of  a  better  fashion."  This  suggestion  was  ap- 
proved, and  eight  elegant  silver  maces,  weighing  216  oz., 
were  purchased  in  August,  at  a  cost  of  £91  Ss.  bd. 

Two  new  charities  were  founded  about  this  date.  Abra- 
ham Hooke,  merchant,  and  other  wealthy  members  of 
Lewin's  Mead  meeting,  erected  in  1722  a  school  house  in 
Stoke's  Croft,  to  which  was  attached  an  almshouse  for 
twelve  poor  women.  The  buildings  and  school  endowment 
involved  an  outlay  of  £4,200.  "  Mrs.  "  Ehzabeth  Blanchard, 
an  unmarried  lady,  who  died  in  1722,  established  an  alms- 
house in  her  dwelling  house  in  Milk  Street  for  five  poor 
spinsters.  Baptists,  *'  whose  labour  is  done ;  "  ordering  in 
her  will  that  her  clock  and  furniture  should  be  left  in  the 
house  for  the  benefit  of  the  inmates. 

The  first  "  umbrello  "  mentioned  in  our  local  records  was 
purchased  by  the  city  treasurer  in  August,  1722,  for  £1 
hs.     His  cash  book  states  that  it  was  **  for  the  Guildhall," 


1722-23.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  135 


that  is,  for  the  protection  of  the  judges  and  magistrates  on 
wet  days  when  they  quitted  and*^ returned  to  their  cari'iages 
— the  only  purpose  for  which  umbrellas  were  then  used  in 
England.  A  fashionable  youth,  who  about  this  date  bor- 
rowed the  umbrella  of  a  London  coflFee  house  during  a 
shower,  found  himself  advertised  in  the  newspapers,  and 
made  "  welcome  to  the  maid's  pattens." 

The  Corporation,  in  September,  1722,  subscribed  £60 
towards  a  movement  to  obtain  Parliamentary  relief  for  the 
local  tobacco  trade,  alleged  to  be  in  a  state  of  "  great  decay." 
The  true  motive  of  the  agitation  was  far  from  creditable. 
Glasgow,  hitherto  despised  by  Bristol  and  Liverpool,  had 
opened  a  considerable  import  trade  with  the  American 
colonies,  especially  in  tobacco,  and  oflFered  that  article  in 
the  English  market  at  a  great  reduction  in  price.  The 
undersold  dealers,  greatly  irritated,  raised  a  cry  that  the 
Scotch  traders  were  evading  the  Customs  duties,  and  clamor- 
ous demands  were  made  to  Parliament  to  suppress  the 
alleged  frauds.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the  English 
mercantile  interest,  the  Government  raised  a  number  of 
vexatious  actions  against  Scotch  importers,  and  though  in 
every  case  the  charges  of  fraud  proved  to  be  groundless, 
the  persecution  reduced  the  northern  tobacco  trade  to  in- 
significance for  many  years,  to  the  great  joy  and  profit  of 
southern  competitors.  A  letter  written  by  Mr.  Isaac  Hob- 
house,  an  eminent  Bristol  merchant,  admitting  that  the 
charges  against  the  Glasgow  firms  were  untruthful,  is 
amongst  the  Newcastle  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum. 

The  inscription  placed  in  1872  under  the  statue  of  Neptun3, 
in  Temple  Street,  assei-ting  that  the  figure  was  set  up  in 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth  to  commemorate  the  defeat  of  the 
Spanish  Armada,  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  rapid 
development  of  local  legends.  The  fiction  is  not  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Barrett,  or  by  any  of  the  earlier  historians  of  the 
city,  and  in  Mr.  Seyer's  MSS.  the  erection  of  the  figure  is 
recorded  to  have  taken  place  in  1723.  John  Evans,  how- 
ever, gave  credit  to  the  Armada  story  in  his  Chronological 
History,  and  that  book  being  the  vade  mecuin  of  many 
dabblers  in  archaeology,  the  fable  is  now  recorded  on  granite 
for  the  edification  of  posterity.  The  true  facts  respecting 
the  figure  were  known  to  Mr.  Tyson,  whose  notes  are  pre- 
served in  the  Jefferies  MSS.  From  these  it  appears  that  in 
1723  the  old  reservoir  of  Temple  Conduit  was  taken  down, 
and  a  new  one  constructed,  chiefly  of  the  old  materials. 
Mr.  Tyson  adds  that  the  statue  of  Neptune,  cast  by  a  person 


136  TUE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1723. 

named  Randal],  made  its  first  appearance  on  the  renovated 
structure.  Two  dates  were  upon  the  "front  stone'*  of  the 
reservoir  when  Tyson's  note  was  written — 1586  and  1723 — 
the  first  denoting  when  the  old  conduit  was  erected,  and 
the  second  when  it  was  rebuilt.  1586  was  two  years  anterior 
to  the  Armada,  but  legend  makers  do  not  stick  at  trifles, 
and  the  figures  served  to  lay  the  basis  of  a  now  popular 
figment.  The  statement  that  one  Randall  produced  the 
figure  is  confirmed  by  a  paragraph  to  the  same  effect  in 
Sarah  Farlei/s  Bristol  Journal  for  December  22nd,  1787, 
when  the  Armada  myth  was  clearly  unborn.  The  name  of 
"  Joseph  Rendall,  founder,"  appears  in  the  Bristol  Poll- 
book  for  1734,  It  is  not  improbable  that  he  turned  out 
other  similar  works.  Amongst  a  list  of  miscellaneous  articles 
advertised  for  sale  in  Thomas  Street  in  July,  1752,  was  "  a 
large  lead  statue  known  by  the  name  of  the  Gladiator,  or 
Roman  Prize  Fighter."  The  earliest  printed  mention  of  Nep- 
tune occurs  in  Farley^s  Bristol  Newspaper  for  January  27th, 
1728,  a  dealer  in  looking  glasses  announcing  that  at  the 
approaching  fair  his  goods  would  be  exposed  for  sale  "  at 
the  Barber's  Pole  and  Sign  of  the  Looking  Glass,  a  little 
below  the  Neptune  in  Temple  Street." 

The  records  of  the  local  gaol  deliveries  previous  to  1742 
having  been  lost,  while  the  files  of  newspapers  are  imperfect, 
it  is  impossible  to  state  with  accuracy  the  number  of  exe- 
cutions that  took  place  in  the  early  years  of  the  century. 
At  the  Assizes  of  1723,  five  men  are  known  to  have  been 
sentenced  to  death,  for  Mr.  Stewart,  in  his  MS.  annals, 
states  that  he  witnessed  their  execution  on  St.  Michael's 
Hill,  and  he  expresses  no  surprise  at  the  number  of  the 
victims.  This  was  the  first  occasion,  he  says,  on  which 
convicts  were  carried  from  Newgate  in  a  cart,  they  having 
previously  been  forced  to  walk  to  the  scaffold.  One  of  the 
five  sufferers,  convicted  of  coining,  then  styled  petty  treason, 
was  dragged  on  a  sledge,  in  pursuance  of  his  sentence.  In 
Mr.  Pryce's  list  of  local  executions — the  only  one  published 
by  a  Bristol  historian — only  five  deaths  are  recorded  pre- 
vious to  1751.  The  following  mournful  catalogue,  un- 
questionably incomplete  as  it  is,  gives  a  more  adequate  idea 
of  the  sanguinary  jurisprudence  of  the  age,  the  convicts 
numbering  no  less  than  seventy-seven.  The  cases  in  which 
the  crime  of  the  malefactor  is  unknown  have  been  kindly 
furnished  by  Mr.  William  George,  who  obtained  them  from 
the  burial  registers  of  St.  Michael's  parish.  Felons  interred 
in  that  churchyard  were  persons  destitute  of  friends,  and 


1723.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  137 

the  fact  that  the  five  suflferers  in  1723  were  buried  elsewhere 
shows  that  the  register  affords  little  evidence  as  to  the  total 
number  of  executions.  Crimes  committed  in  Clifton,  Cot- 
ham,  Redland,  and  the  out-parishes  of  St.  James  and  St. 
Philip  were  then  dealt  with  at  Gloucester,  while  Bedminster 
and  Knowle  prisoners  were  tried  in  Somerset,  but  there  is 
no  reason  for  excluding  such  cases  from  the  following  list : — 

1705.  September  12,  John  Roberts. 

1711.  Aug.  17,  WiUiam  HoUand. 

1713.  Sept. ,  John  Shrimpton — murder. 

1714.  April,  Capt.  Maccartny  (gibbeted  on  the  Down) — murder. 
1714.  September  8,  Daniel  Roberts. 

„     „   AnnPugh. 
1716.    Aug.  29,  Henry  Pearson. 

„      „    Roger  Wall. 
1718.    Oct.  8,  Elizabeth  CJowley. 

1720.  April,  Two  men — robbing  the  mail. 
Sept.  5,  A  blacksmith — murder  of  a  girl. 

1721.  October,  A  sailor— rape. 

1722— Mar.  21  (at  Gloucester)  Geo.  Harver— burglaries,  St.  Philip's. 

„  „  John  Bampton — do. 

„  „  John  Smith —      do.  [par. 

„  „  Richard  Bayton — burglary  in  Westbury 

July  29  „  Isaac  Linnet — housebreaking,  Clifton. 

1728.    (no  date).    Five  men— one  for  coining. 
1724.    Sept.  10,  Constant  Smith. 

„        James  Williams. 

„        John  Phillips — robbery. 

„        Richard  Roberts — robbery. 
17^.    Sept.  8,  William  Morgan — robbery. 

,,        Mary  Tedman— robber  v. 

1728.  June  15,  Thomas  Bell,  soldier  (shot  on  Downs)— desertion. 

1729.  Sept.  12,  George  Bennett— hoasebreaking. 

„        William  Taylor — murder. 
1790.    July  23,  George  Bidgood,  weaver — rioting. 

(no  date,  at  Glouc).    Another  weaver — rioting,  St.  Philip's. 
1731.    Mar.  22  (at  Glouc.\  Wm.  Crown — robberies  on  the  Downs. 

Sept.  24,  Thomas  Sleep — horsestealing. 

1733.  Sept.  21,  William  Bussell — unrecordwl. 

„        James  Jones — unrecorded. 

1734.  Sept.  16,  ThonuLs  Kitchenman — murder. 

„        Martha  Morgan — child  murdpr. 
1737.    Aug.  26  (Glouc),  John  Willis— burglary,  St.  Philip's. 
„  „        John  Gibbs — burglary,  suburbs. 

Sept.  3,  John  Vernon — burglary. 

„        Joshua  Harding — shoplifting. 
1788.    April  14,  Thomas  Boone — rioting? 
September,  John  Hobbs — coining. 

1739.  May  4,  John  Kimberley — murder. 

„        John  Philips — robbery. 

1740.  April  1,  A  soldier  (shot) — desertion. 

April  14  (Glouc),  ^^•f;^*^j^«'"|  robberies  on  Durdham  Down. 

Sept.  4  (Bedminster),  J.  Millard  (gibbeted) 
„       (Brislington),  Com.  York  (gibbeted) 
„       (Ilchester),  Wm.  Derrick 

—    Masters 


robberies   in  Bed- 
minster, &. 


138  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1723. 

1740.  S.-pt.  19,  William  Boe— shoplifting. 

1741.  April  17,  Samuel  Goodere  | 

„         Charles  White  [  murder  of  Sir  John  Dineley. 

„         M.  Mahony  (gibbeted)  ) 

„        Jane  Williams— child  murder. 

1742.  April  8,  Wm.  Curtis — returning?  from  transportation. 

1743.  May  13,  Sarah  Barret,  alicis  Dodd — theft. 
June  6,  John  Woods — forgery. 

July  11,  John  Partington  (shot)— desertion. 

1744.  March  2*2  (on  Downs),  Andrew  Burnett  (gibbeted)  "J  murder       near 

„  „        Henry  Payne  (gibbeted)      }         Downs. 

1746.  A  pril,  John  Barry — forgery. 
Sept.,  Matthew  Daly— murder. 

1747.  August  17  (Glouc),  Bobert  Hine  ^   roVjUgries  in  suburbs 

„       Samuel  Baxter  )   ^o^^^ies  m  sudutds. 

1748.  April  22,  Wm.  Nicholas,  a  boy  (gibbeted) — poisoning  his  mistress. 

„  Eleanor  Connor — stealing  from  person. 

Sept.  21  (Ilchester),  J.  Mundoso— murder,  Knowle. 

1749.  Aug.  25,  Jeremiah  Hayes— murder. 

„        Joseph  Abseny  (gibbeted) — murder. 

1750.  April  19  (Somerset;,  J.  Perry  man    I  destroying     a     house,     Bed- 

Thos.  Beach  /     minster. 


»»  »» 


The  Gloucester  Journal  for  March  4th,  1723,  contains  the 
following  account  of  a  custom  which  has  hitherto  escaped 
notice  : — ^*  We  have  advices  from  Bristol  that  on  the  27th 
past,  being  Ash  Wednesday,  [really  on  Shrove  Tuesday], 
the  blacksmiths  of  the  city  assembled  in  a  body  in  bt. 
Thomas  Street,  in  order  to  engage  their  annual  combatants, 
the  coopers,  carpenters,  and  sailors  there  ;  which  last  bore  so 
hard  upon  the  weather  quarter  of  the  smiths*  anvils  (notwith- 
standing the  furious  discharge  of  their  wooden  thunderbolts) 
tliat  they  drove  every  Vulcan  into  his  fiery  mansion.  The 
noise  of  this  defeat  alarmed  the  whole  posse  of  weavers,  who 
joined  the  smiths,  and  made  a  general  attack  on  the  wrong 
wing  of  their  enemies,  for  they  then  totally  routed  them, 
sending  'em  home  in  the  utmost  disorder  to  show  their 
wives,  &c.,  a  parcel  of  broken  loggerheads.  However,  we 
understand  the  smiths  and  weavers  are  resolved  to  form 
another  campaign  next  year,  and  try  their  success  at  arms 
on  the  same  day  therein."  The  custom  was  not  extinct  in 
1757,  when  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  the  26th  February 
says  : — ''  Tuesday  last,  being  Shrove  Tuesday,  the  appren- 
tices of  coopers  and  ship-carpenters,  >vith  their  respective 
colours  and  ensigns,  made  the  usual  procession  through  the 
streets.  In  the  evening,  happening  to  meet  on  the  Quay, 
and  contending  for  the  upper  hand,  a  fight  ensued,  in  which 
several  were  wounded,  and  one  of  the  carpenters  had  the 
misfortune  to  have  his  skull  fractured.''  At  a  later  period 
the  procession  was  postponed  to  Whit  Monday,  Sarah 
Farley's  Journal  recording  its  occurrence  in  May,   1780. 


1723.]  IN   THE   BIGHTEKNTH   CENTURY.  139 

The  Whit  Monday  "  revel  ^'  held  at  Bedminster  was  at  that 
time  very  popular. 

Jacobitism  continued  to  give  anxiety  to  the  Government. 
In  the  State  Papers  is  the  following'  letter  to  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  dated  Bristol,  June  26th,  1723,  from  *'  a  lover  of  his 
Majesty,"  one  John  Eblass  : — "  There  is  a  very  dangerous 
person  at  Bristol,  carrying  on  a  design  for  to  secure  the 
Prince  and  young  Princess,  and  so  raise  a  rebellion  while 
his  Majesty's  abroad.  If  you  send  a  messenger  ye  minute 
you  receive  this,  ye  may  have  several  letters  on  him  to 
several  people  who  are  not  yet  come  to  Bristol  and  Bath, 
where  they  meet  on  pretence  of  drinking  the  waters.  His 
name  is  Peter  Hammond,"  (lodging  at  a  sugar  baker's,  near 
St.  Philip's  Church).  The  man  was  arrested,  but  no  infor- 
mation of  importance  was  obtained.  On  the  26th  August 
the  Gloucester  Journal  recorded  that  a  Bristol  Jacobite,  Peter 
Cumber  batch,  had  just  got  his  head  broken  by  the  dragoons 
encamped  at  Maisemore  for  having,  with  some  fellow  fanatics, 
raised  a  disturbance,  crying  "  Down  with  the  camp  ;  down 
with  the  Roundheads  ;  the  King  shall  enjoy  his  own  again.*' 

The  popularity  of  the  Hot  Well  at  this  period  is  proved 
by  a  scarce  book  of  poems,  entitled  "Characters  at  the  Hot 
Well,  Bristol,  in  September,  1723,"  published  in  London  the 
same  year.  Amongst  the  personages  mentioned  by  the 
writer  are  the  famous  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  the  Duchess 

of  Kent,  Lady  Diana  Spencer,  Lady  A.  Grey,  "  Ld.  E y 

(late  Sir  R.  M.),"  and  "  Sir  D y  B y."     [The  two  last 

named  personages  were  Lord  Romney  and  Sir  D.  Bulkeley.] 
Unfortunately,  the  writer  throws  no  light  on  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  visitors,  for  whose  convenience  a  "  Publick 
Boom  "  had  been  opened  in  the  previous  ye?iT (Weekly  Jour- 
nal, August  4th,  1722).  Edward  Strother,  M.D.,  forwarded, 
in  1723,  a  paper  to  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society, 
describing  his  experiments  for  ascertaining  the  constituents 
of  the  Hot  Well  water.  The  result  of  his  researches,  he 
said,  showed  that  the  spring  was  "  iEqueo-salino-alcalino- 
cretaceo-aluminoso-cupreo-vitriolick" — which  merely  proves 
that  the  doctor  was  a  skilful  practitioner  in  the  art  of  using 
scientific  jargon  to  conceal  profound  ignorance.  So  far  as 
concerned  Clifton  "  on  the  hill,"  the  only  important  advance 
made  since  1700  was  the  erection  of  a  mansion  by  Thomas 
Goldney,  a  Quaker  grocer  in  Castle  Street,  and  one  of  the 
lucky  owners  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  privateers.  (Follow- 
ing a  taste  made  fashionable  by  Pope,  Mr.  Goldney  con- 
structed in  his  grounds  an  extensive  grotto,  the  walls  of 


8, 

d. 

5 

0 

1 

0 

1 

8 

0  10 

6 

6 

5 

4 

11 

8 

12 

4 

12 

0 

140  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1723-24. 

which  were  elaborately  ornamented  with  Bristol  diamonds, 
shells,  and  other  curiosities.  John  Wesley,  who  visited  this 
sparkling  retreat,  notes  with  a  groan  that  Mr.  Groldney 
spent  twenty  years  and  large  sums  of  money  in  amassing  its 
decorations.  The  grotto,  which  still  exists,  was  an  object 
of  great  attraction  to  visitors  at  the  Hot  Well.)  Mr.  Grold- 
win,  the  "  poetical  delineator  "  of  Bristol,  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  in  his  time  there  was  just  sufl&cient  society  in 
Clifton  to  establish  a  whist  table  (Seyer's  MSS).  That  the 
farmers  who  held  parochial  offices  were  determined  enemies 
of  "  sport "  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts  (slightly 
curtailed)  from  the  churchwarden's  accounts  : — 

1723 — For  2  foxes,  8  hedgehogR,  and  a  polecat 

172<) — For  a  fox 

1730 — For  7  hedgehogs 

1731 — For  a  polecat  and  2  hedgehogs 

1731—  For  2  foxes,  18  hedgehogs,  and  a  kyte 

1731— For  2  „  and  10  „   

1733— For  35  hedgehogs  in  the  year 

1734 -For  84    „       „      

1735 — For  6  foxes  and  15  hedgehogs 

Similar  items  occur  in  the  accounts  for  many  subsequent 
years.  (What  seems  still  more  strange  in  our  day,  premiums 
for  killing  vermin  were  also  yearly  paid  by  the  church- 
wardens of  St.  Philip's,  who  disbursed  4s.  lOd.  for  the  des* 
truction  of  28  hedgehogs  and  4  polecats  in  1723).  The 
local  instruments  for  maintaining  law  and  order  were  kept 
in  a  state  of  efficiency.  In  1730  the  stocks  and  whipping 
post  were  repaired  at  a  cost  of  £1  4«.  4d. ;  and  they  were 
renewed  four  years  later,  when  £2  Is,  lOd.  was  expended 
upon  them. 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  the  popularity  of 
cock-fighting.  In  March,  1724,  a  great  match  took  place  at 
the  White  Lion  inn,  Bath,  between  the  gentlemen  of  that 
city  and  those  of  Bristol,  the  stakes  being  six  guineas  on 
each  battle,  and  sixty  guineas  on  the  concluding  fight.  As 
the  tournament  extended  over  three  days,  a  great  number 
of  birds  must  have  been  sacrificed. 

The  Gloucester  Journal  of  April  27th,  1724,  announced  that 
the  coaches  to  Bristol  and  Bath  had  begun  to  "  fly  "  on  the 
22nd  of  that  month,  and  would  continue  for  the  season  to 
perform  the  journey  "  in  one  day  (Grod  permitting).''  The 
return  journey  from  Bath  vid  Bristol  occupied  two  days, 
and  the  above  rate  of  speed  southwards  was  found  too  great 
in  the  following  summer,  when   passengers  for  Bath  had 


1724.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  141 

to  spend  the  night  in  Bristol — an  arrangement  which  con- 
tinued until  1763,  and  probably  later.  It  does  not  appear 
that  any  coach  travelled  between  Gloucester  and  this  city 
during  the  winter  months,  when  the  traffic  was  abandoned 
to  the  wagons,  occupying  two  days  in  the  transit.  The 
London  Evening  Post  of  May  23rd,  1724,  announced  that  the 
flying,  or  two  days'  coaches  from  London  to  Bristol,  and  also 
the  three  days'  coaches  to  the  same  destination,  started  from 
"  the  Sarazen's  Head,  Friday  Street — the  Flyers  every  Mon- 
day, Wednesday  and  Friday,  and  the  others  every  Monday 
and  Thursday."  The  two  days'  coaches  ran  only  during  the 
summer  half  year,  and  the  slower  vehicles  appear  to  have 
occupied  four  days  in  their  journeys  during  the  winter 
months.  Even  though  their  progress  was  so  deliberate,  a 
contemporary  writer  complains  that  the  passengers  "  after 
being  brought  into  their  inns  by  torchlight,  when  it  is  too 
late  to  get  a  supper,  are  forced  so  early  into  their  coach 
next  morning  that  they  can  get  no  breakfast."  Pennant, 
the  well-known  antiquary,  states  in  one  of  his  works  that  in 
March,  1739,  the  coach  from  Chester  to  London,  drawn  by 
six  good  horses  (helped  by  two  extra  ones  where  there  were 
sloughs),  was  six  days  on  a  journey  of  190  miles.  "  We  were 
constantly  out  two  hours  before  day,  and  late  at  night." 

The  Corporation,  in  August,  1724,  voted  ±*40  to  the 
vestry  of  St.  Nicholas,  which  had  undertaken  to  renovate  the 
ancient  conduit  on  the  Back,  at  an  outlay  of  £100.  The 
"  fair  castellet "  mentioned  by  Leland  as  surmounting  the 
fountain  in  his  time  had  probably  already  disappeared. 

The  manner  in  which  the  estates  of  the  dean  and  chapter 
of  Bristol  were  managed  at  this  period  was  that  adopted  by 
ecclesiastical  corporations  generally.  The  property  was 
leased,  generally  for  three  lives,  at  a  nominal  rental,  but 
heavy  fines  were  levied  on  renewals.  Thus,  in  ordinary 
years,  the  dean's  income  was  only  £100,  and  that  of  each 
prebendary  £20;  while  in  exceptional  years  the  receipts 
were  multiplied  six  or  eight  fold.  One  of  those  golden 
periods  occurred  in  1724,  when  the  chapter  exacted  the  sum 
of  £2,000  for  renewing  the  lease  of  the  rectorial  tithes  of 
Halberton,  Devon,  while  Sir  Abraham  Elton  was  cliarged 
£300  for  addine:  a  life  to  his  lease  of  the  manor  of  Blacks- 
worth  (in  St.  Philip's  and  Clifton),  and  other  lessors'  fines 
amounted  to  over  £700.  The  dean  reaped  one-fourth  of 
these  occasional  harvests,  and  each  of  the  six  prebendaries 
received  an  eighth. 

An  action  at  law,  apparently  for  the  recovery  of  tithes  on 


142  THK    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1724-25. 

fruit,  was  pf^nding  at  this  time  batween  John  Hodges,  im- 
propriator of  the  parish  of  Clifton,  and  Edward  Jones,  Esq., 
who  possessed  a  garden  attached  to  his  house  there,  valued 
at  £4  a  year.  A  commission  to  receive  the  evidence  of  local 
witnesses  held  a  sitting  on  the  25th  September  at  the 
**  Blackmoore's  Head,  Clifton/'  Almost  the  only  point  of 
interest  in  the  depositions,  preserved  at  the  Record  OflSce, 
is  the  statement  of  a  witness  to  the  effect  that  he  had  rented 
a  farm  of  26  acres  in  the  parish  for  forty  years,  at  a  rental 
of  £33,  and  paid  two  shillings  in  the  pound  additional  for 
tithes.     The  result  of  the  action  does  not  appear. 

The  Jefferies  collection  contains  a  document,  dated  the 
24th  October,  1724,  fixing  the  tares  to  be  allowed  to  pur- 
chasers of  sugar  landed  at  this  port.  The  paper  is  now 
interesting  only  for  the  proof  it  affords  of  the  vast  extent  of 
the  West  India  trade  then  enjoyed  by  Bristol.  No  less  than 
99  local  firms  appended  their  signatures  to  the  arrangement. 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  West  India  merchants  in 
London  were  much  more  numerous.  In  March,  1789,  when 
another  regulation  concerning  tares  was  agreed  to  at  a  meet- 
ing of  planters  and  merchants  at  the  Bush  Hotel,  the  number 
of  firms  represented  was  only  35. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1725,  the  Bristol  ship  Dispatch, 
the  property  of  three  influential  merchants,  Isaac  Hobhouse, 
Noblet  Ruddock,  and  William  Baker,  left  the  port  for  the 
coast  of  Africa,  on  a  slaving  voyage.  The  instructions  of 
the  owners  to  the  captain  and  the  manifest  of  the  cargo 
having  luckily  been  preserved  (they  are  in  the  Jefferies 
collection),  a  summary  of  their  contents  will  give  the  reader 
an  insight  into  the  manner  in  which  the  slave  traffic  was 
carried  on.  It  may  be  well,  however,  to  premise  that  the 
eighteenth  century  merchants  who  pursued  this  trade 
ought  not  to  be  judged  by  the  higher  moral  code  of  the 
present  day.  Many  of  them  were  regarded  in  their  genera- 
tion not  merely  as  honest  and  honourable,  but  as  benevolent 
and  kind-hearted  men.  John  Cary,  for  instance,  the 
founrler  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  was  conspicuous  for 
his  integrity  and  humanity  ;  yet  in  his  *^  Essay  on  Trade,*' 
a  work  applauded  by  statesmen,  he  spoke  of  the  commerce 
with  Africa  as  "of  the  most  advantage  to  this  kingdom  of  any 
we  drive,  and  as  it  were  all  profit,  the  first  cost  being  little 
more  than  small  manufactures,  for  which  we  have  in  return 
gold,  teeth  (ivory),  wax  and  negroes,  the  last  whereof  is  much 
better  than  the  first,  being  the  best  traffic  the  kingdom 
hath,  as  it  doth  give  so  vast  an  employment  to  our  people 


1725.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  143 

both  by  sea  and  land."  "When  it  is  remembered  that  more 
than  half  a  century  after  Gary's  book  was  published,  the 
Rev.  John  Newton,  the  friend  of  Cowper,  was  studying  for 
the  ministry  when  in  command  of  a  slave  ship,  one  cannot 
refuse  to  make  a  liberal  allowance  for  contemporary  mer- 
cantile habits  and  ideas.  It  is,  indeed,  a  melancholy  but 
incontestable  fact  that  although  the  most  hideous  cruelties 
were  practised  to  procure  slaves,  many  earnest  professors  of 
Christianity  in  Bristol  and  elsewhere  felt  no  scruple  in 
engaging  in  the  traffic,  and  even  in  seeking  divine  sanction 
for  their  enterprises.  The  bill  of  lading  of  a  slave  cargo 
described  the  miserable  captives  as  "  shipped  by  the  grace 
of  Grod  " ;  the  captain  (generally  a  ruthless  brute)  was  de- 
clared to  hold  his  office  '*  under  God  "  ;  the  vessel  was  said 
to  be  bound  "  under  God's  grace  ''  with  so  many  slaves ;  and 
the  document  ended  with  the  pious  prayer,  "  God  send  the 
ship  to  her  desired  port  in  safety."  Turning  to  the  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  Dispatch,  the  first  important  paper  is 
the  manifest  of  the  cargo  destined  to  be  exchanged  for 
human  beings.     The  following  is  a  summary  :— 

d^OOO  copper  rods  ... 

A  quantity  of  cotton  goods,  called  Niccanees, 
Bejutas,  Chints,  Bomalls,  &c 

xa.  CwSK  V>OW^i^lt?!9         •••  •••  •••  •••  ••• 

2,000  Rangoes  (?) 

206  cwt.  iron  bars,  @  £19  per  ton        

10  barrels  gunpowder      

180  musquets  (ip  10/6  and  chests 

4  casks  Monelas  (?)  

4i  cwt.  Neptunes  (copper  pans)  

207  gals,  brandy  {a>  2/6  and  casks        

37  gals,  cordial  (gin)  (o^  2/9       

12  cwt.  bugles  (glass  beads  ?^ 

18  fine  hatd  edged  with  gold  and  silver,  and 

8  doz.  felts  edged  with  copper      21     4    0 

With  a  few  miscellaneous  items  the  total  value  of  the 
cargo  amounted  to  £1,330  Ss.  9Jd.  The  vessel  also  carried  a 
quantity  of  provisions  for  the  voyage  from  Africa  to  the 
West  Indies,  including  40  cwt.  of  bread,  ^  cwt.  of  flour, 
664  cwt.  of  beef  and  pork,  190  bushels  of  beans  and  peas, 
6  bushels  of  "  grutts,'*  12  tierces  and  4  hhds.  of  ship  beer. 
In  the  owners'  letter  of  instructions  to  the  captain,  William 
Barry,  he  is  ordered  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  to  Andony, 
on  the  African  coast,  and  there  traffic  with  the  cargo  for 
"  *240  choice  slaves  "  and  a  good  quantity  of  elephants'  teeth, 
"  seeing  in  that  commodity  there  is  no  mortality  to  be 
feared."      The   slaves   must    be    healthy   and  strong,   and 


£  8. 

d. 

251  12 

0 

455  9 

6 

13  12 
12  0 

^* 

196  1 
40  17 

Hi 

96  19 

0 

51  11 

9 

88  0  9} 
28  1  4i 
5  3  li 
76  2  10 

144  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1725. 

between  the  ages  of  10  and  25 — males  to  be  preferred  as 
more  valuable.  Attention  must  be  paid  to  their  feeding, 
and  to  prevent  their  being  ill-used  by  the  crew,  "  which  has 
often  been  done  to  the  prejudice  of  the  voyage.''  When 
loaded,  the  ship  is  to  sail  for  "Princess,"  where  the  unsold 
goods  are  to  be  disposed  of,  and  the  slaves  sold  if  they  will 
bring  "  10  moidores  (£13  lOs.)  per  head  all  round."  If  this 
cannot  be  done,  the  vessel  is  to  sail  for  Antigua  to  await 
orders,  failing  which  the  slaves  are  to  be  sold  at  Nevis  or 
South  Carolina.  The  captain  is  to  have  four  per  cent,  com- 
mission on  the  net  proceeds  of  the  live  cargo,  and  is  allowed 
to  buy  two  slaves  on  his  own  account.  The  chief  mate  may 
also  have  two  slaves,  but  is  to  pay  for  their  food.  As 
another  ship  was  ready  to  sail  on  the  same  enterprise,  Capt. 
Barry  was  to  endeavour  to  outsail  her,  and  to  "  see  that  he 
is  not  outdone  in  slaving  by  other  commanders."  Finally  he 
is  "  recommended  to  the  Good  God  Almighty's  protection." 
Captain  Barry's  signature  is  appended,  acknowledging  the 
above  to  be  a  true  copy  of  his  orders,  which  he  promises  "  to 
perform  (God  willing)."  The  results  of  the  voyage  are  not 
preserved.  In  1727  another  Bristol  ship,  the  Castle,  pro- 
ceeded to  Andony,  and  took  in  a  cargo  of  271  slaves,  for 
which  iron,  copper,  etc.,  were  exchanged,  according  to  the 
ship's  day-book,  now  in  the  possession  of  Miss  Fry,  to  the 
value  of  about  £2  15s.  per  head.  Notwithstanding  the  low- 
ness  of  the  cost,  and  the  increasing  popularity  of  the  trade, 
by  which  at  least  30,000  Africans  were  yearly  conveyed  to 
America,  the  price  of  slaves  was  steadily  rising  across  the 
Atlantic.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Isaac  Hobhouse,  from  John 
Jones  (his  nephew  and  agent),  of  the  firm  of  Tyndall, 
Assheton  and  Co.,  dated  Jamaica,  March  2nd,  1728,  the  arrival 
is  reported  "  of  the  Virgin,  from  the  Gold  Coast,  with  262 
slaves  to  our  address,  and  they  comes  at  £30  17^.  Gd.  per 
head  round,  which  is  a  good  price  considering  there  was  so 
many  small  among  them.  .  .  .  The  demand  for  negroes 
continues ;  there  is  now  600  in  harbour  and  all  bought  up." 
In  a  letter  of  February,  1730,  R.  Assheton,  a  member  of  the 
same  firm,  reports  to  Hobhouse: — "Surely  negroes  were 
never  so  much  wanted,  nor  can  that  want  be  supplied  for 
two  years  to  come,  which  the  Days  [a  great  Bristol  firm]  are 
very  sensible  of,  and  push  all  they  can.  The  general  terms 
Pratten  buys  at  is  £30  to  £32  per  head  for  men,  women, 
bo3's,  and  girls."  Another  letter  from  Assheton  to  Hob- 
house reports  that  a  Bristol  cargo  of  234  slaves  had  sold  for 
£35  all  round.    It  would  therefore  appear  that  in  a  fortunate 


1725.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  145 

voyage  the  profit  on  a  cargo  of  about  270  slaves  must  have 
reached  £7,000  or  £8,000,  exclusive  of  the  returns  from 
ivory,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  Mr.  Hobhouse, 
like  some  other  local  adventurers,  acquired  "  a  very  large 
fortune  "  (Felix  Farley's  Journal,  Feb.  26th,  1763).  Amongst 
the  JefFeries  MSS.  is  an  account  from  Barbadoes,  dated 
1730,  showing  the  produce  of  "Merchandize,  being  329 
negroes,  per  the  Freke  Galley,  from  Guinea,  for  account  of. 
William  Freke,  Esq.,  and  Company,  merchants,  in  Bristol." 
The  cargo  consisted  of  141  men,  75  women,  65  boys,  and  48 
girls,  but  was  not  in  good  condition.  Most  of  the  men 
brought  from  £22  to  £29,  but  a  few  sold  at  from  £2  10s.  to 
£7.  The  women  averaged  about  £23,  but  two  brought  only 
lbs.  each.  The  boys  and  girls  produced  about  iJ14  a  head. 
Altogether  the  "  merchandise  "  realised  £6,207.  The  agents'' 
commission  (including  an  import  duty  of  bs.  per  head,  and 
£25  9s.  "  paid  for  treating  customers  during  the  sale ") 
amounted  to  £460  6^.  9d.,  leaving  a  net  return  on  an  in»- 
different  cargo  of  £5,746  18s.  3d.  Some  adventures  turned 
out  more  unluckily.  Mr.  Assheton  informs  Hobhouse,  in 
1729,  that  a  cargo  had  sold  for  only  £19  10s.  a  head,  owing 
to  the  slaves  being  nearly  all  "  children  or  grey  headed." 
(More  than  one-third  of  them  died  a  few  weeks  after  being 
disposed  of,  but  this  loss  fell  upon  the  purchasers.)  The 
captain  of  the  Greyhound  galley,  writing  to  Hobhouse,  one 
of  the  owners,  reports  that  out  of  a  cargo  of  339  "jolly, 
likely  "  slaves  shipped  at  Bonny,  he  had  landed  only  214  at 
Barbadoes.  Most  of  the  survivors  were  sold  at  £40  a  pair, 
"  a  very  poor  story  after  such  a  loss."  In  another  case 
Jamaica  agents  inform  Isaac  Hobhouse  and  his  partner, 
Onesiphorus  Tyndall,  that  two-fifths  of  the  slaves  on  board 
one  of  their  ships  had  died  on  the  passage,  many  more  had 
died  after  landing,  and  several  were  almost  valueless.  But 
the  writers  conclude  with  the  encouraging  intelligence  that 
there  was  an  immediate  demand  for  1,000  good  negroes, 
"  and  fine  cargoes  will  make  agreeable  sales."  Besides  the 
losses  incurred  by  the  outbreak  of  pestilence  during  a  voyage, 
the  slave  traders  had  occasionally  to  deplore  a  revolt  amongst 
their  unhappy  victims.  The  Gloucester  Journal  of  January 
28th,  1729,  has  a  letter  from  Bristol  containing  "  the  melan- 
choly news  that  Captain  HoUiday,  with  all  his  crew  except 
the  cabin  boy,  have  been  murdered  on  the  coast  of  Africa  by 
the  negroes "  he  was  about  to  carry  off.  (As  showing  the 
slow  circulation  of  news  at  that  time,  it  may  be  stated  that 
the  disaster  occurred  in  May,  1728.)    Rea(Vs  (London)  Jour- 

L 


146  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1725. 

nal  of  June  18th,  1737,  published  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
the  Bristol  ship  Princess  of  Orange,  stating  that  whilst  pro- 
ceeding to  the  West  Indies  "  a  hundred  of  the  men  slaves 
jumped  overboard,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  we  saved 
as  many  as  we  did.  We  lost  33  .  .  .  who  were  resolved 
to  die.  Some  others  have  died  since,  but  not  to  the  owner's 
loss,  they  being  sold  before  any  discovery  was  made  of  the 
injury  tne  salt  water  had  done  them.  The  captain  has  lost 
two  of  his  own  slaves."  It  was  possibly  in  the  hope  of 
cheering  the  poor  captives  that  musicians  were  engaged  in 
some  slaving  vessels.  It  is  incidentally  stated  in  August, 
1729,  that  the  ship  Castle  of  Bristol  had  a  piper,  a  fiddler, 
and  a  drummer  on  board. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  extracts  that  the  comman- 
ders of  slaving  vessels  were  allowed  to  transport  a  few 
slaves  in  each  cargo  for  their  personal  profit.  It  was  doubt- 
less through  this  custom  that  so  many  negro  slaves  were 
brought  to  England,  and  lived  and  died  here  in  servitude. 
The  post  of  captain  in  a  slaving  ship  was  a  lucrative  one, 
and  those  who  gained  it  were  prone  to  make  a  display  of 
their  good  fortune.  Their  gaudily-laced  coats  and  cocked 
hats  are  often  mentioned  by  contemporary  writers.  As  their 
wills  bear  witness,  they  were  accustomed  to  flaunt  large 
silver,  and  sometimes  gold,  buttons  on  their  apparel,  and 
their  shoes  were  decorated  with  buckles  of  the  precious 
metals.  But  the  most  distinguishing  mark  of  a  captain  in 
the  streets  was  the  black  slave  who  obsequiously  attended 
him,  and  who  was  often  sold  to  a  wealthy  family  when  the 
owner  again  embarked  for  Africa.  Sometimes,  as  has  been 
already  shown,  a  black  servant  was  bequeathed  to  a  friend 
by  will.  Female  negroes  reached  this  country  in  the  same 
manner,  and  were  purchased  for  domestic  service.  The 
House  of  Commons  Journals  for  March  16th,  1702,  in  report- 
ing evidence  given  before  a  committee,  described  a  witness 
as  a  slave  to  a  Jew  merchant  in  Holbom.  "  She  had  lived 
with  him,"  ahe  deposed,  "  14  years  as  a  slave."  The  news- 
papers of  the  first  seventy  years  of  the  century  contain 
scores  of  advertisements  concerning  the  sale  or  elopement  of 
blacks  held  in  slavery.  A  few  examples  may  be  interesting. 
In  the  London  Gazette  of  January  17th,  1713,  Captain  Foye, 
of  Bristol,  (Jffers  £6  for  the  capture  of  "  a  negro  called 
Scipio,  aged  about  24,"  who  had  escaped.  In  the  same 
journal  for  July  5th,  1715,  Mr.  Pyne,  the  Bristol  postmaster, 
undertakes  to  pay  two  guineas  and  expenses  for  tne  recovery 
of  Captain  Stephen  Courtney's  negro,  aged  about  20,  **  hav- 


1725.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  147 

ing  three  or  four  marks  on  each  temple  and  the  same  on 
each  cheek" — which  were  presumably  testimonies  of  the 
affection  of  his  master.     (Captain  Courtney,  it  will  be  re- 
membered,  was  one  of   the  commanders  of  the  fortunate 
Duchess  privateer.)     Nothing,  perhaps,  better  indicates  the 
distance  which  separates  us  from  the  reign  of  George  I.  than 
the  fact  that  the  postmaster  of  Bristol  was  the  agent  em- 
ployed to  recapture  a  slave  living  in  Bristol,  and  that  this 
fact  was  published  in  the  official  organ  of  the  Government. 
In  Farley's  Bristol  Newspaper  for  August  31st,  1728,  Captain 
John  Gwythen  offers  for  sale  "  a  Negro  man  about  20  years 
old,  well  limbed,  fit  to  serve  a  gentleman  or  to  be  instructed 
in  a  trade."  In  the  Journal  of  November  16th,  1746,  Captain 
Eaton  announces  the  evasion  of  his  negro  Mingo,  whom  he 
had  owned  for  eight  years,  for  whose  recovery  he  promised  a 
guinea.     "  All  persons  are  hereby  forbid  entertaining  the 
said  Black  at  their  peril.*'     Josiah  Rose,  of  Redcliff  Street, 
advertised  the  elopement  of  his  negro  boy,  aged  13,  in  the 
London  General  Advertiser  of  April  8th,  1748.    In  the  Bristol 
Journal  of  June  23rd,  1760,  appears  : — "  To  be  sold,  a  negro 
Boy  of  about  12  years  of  age.  .  .  .  Inquire  of  the  printers.'* 
The  Bristol  Intelligencer  of  January  12th,  1764,  offers  for 
sale,  to  "  any  gentleman  or  lady  who  wants  a  Negro  Boy," 
a  lad  of  14  years,  recently  landed.     The  Bristol  Journal  of 
March   12th,    1767,  publishes  the    elopement    of  a   young 
negro  called  Starling,  who  "blows  the  French  horn  very 
well."     His  owner,  a  publican  in  Prince's  Street,  offers  a 
guinea  for  his  capture.     A  week  later  it  is  announced  that 
the  negro  of  Captain  Bouchier,  of  Keynsham,  has  escaped  ; 
while  on  the  22nd  September  the  evasion  is  published  of 
the  negro  servant  of  Captain  Ezekiel  Nash,  who  offers  to 
reward  the  person  giving  him  up,  and  threatens  to  prosecute 
any  one  secreting  him.     On  the  16th  April,  1768,  the  same 
paper  offers  £b  for  the   recapture  of  a   **  Malotta  Boy," 
absconded  from  one  McNeal,  of  St.  Philip's  Plain,  who  also 
menaces  legal  proceedings  against  a  detainer  of  his  property; 
and  on  the  14th  April,  1769,  Captain  Holbrook  advertises  a 
"  handsome  reward  "  for  the  recovery  of  his  **  Nogro  man 
named  Thomas."     Felix   Farley's  Journal  of  August  2nd, 
1760,  contains  a  pithy  advertisement : — "  To  be  sold,  a  Ne- 
groe  Boy  about  ten  years  old.     He  has  had  the  small  pox." 
A  Liverpool  paper  of  1766  has  an  announcement  of  the  sale 
by  auction  in  that  town,  on  the  12th  September,  of  ''  Eleven 
Negro  Slaves."     In  the  Bristol  Journal  of  June  20th,  1767, 
we  have : — "  To  be  sold,  a  Black  Boy,  about  15  years  of 


148  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1725. 

age ;  capable  of  waiting  at  table ; "  and  the  same  paper  of 
January  Oth,  1768,  ofl'ers  for  sale  "  a  healthy  Negro  Slave 
named  Prince,  17  years  of  age ;  extremely  well  grown." 
Some  of  the  fugitive  slaves  are  described  as  wearing  silver 
collars  round  the  neck,  engraved  with  the  owner's  name. 

The  only  mode  of  travelling  available  to  the  poor  at  this 
period  was  by  stage  wagons,  progressing  at  the  rate  of 
about  twenty  miles  a  day.  No  early  advertisement  of  a 
Bristol  wagon  having  been  found,  the  following  is  extracted 
from  the  Whitehall  Evening  Post  of  April  24th,  1725  :—''  For 
the  benefit  of  the  distressed.  In  a  few  days  (if  God  permit) 
will  set  out  for  the  Bath,  a  large  commodious  waggon,  which 
will  conveniently  hold  36  persons.  Such  weak  persons  as 
are  wilUng  to  take  the  advantage  of  this  conveyance  are 
desired  speedily  to  send  in  their  names  to  Robert  Knight, 
waggoner,  at  the  Three  Crowns  in  Arlington  Street." 

Owing  to  the  brutality  with  which  persons  exposed  on 
the  pillory  were  often  treated  by  the  mob,  it  was  not  unusual 
for  tlie  victims  or  their  friends  to  hire  a  number  of  rufiBans, 
who  undertook  to  drive  off  the  assailing  rabble.  The  exhi- 
bitions in  Wine  Street  thus  occasionally  produced  "  free 
fights  "  of  a  violent  character.  A  paragraph  in  the  Glotices- 
ter  Journal  dated  August  25th,  1725,  states  that  one  John 
Millard,  convicted  at  the  Bristol  assizes  of  forgery,  by  which 
he  obtained  large  sums  of  money,  was  sentenced  to  a  year's 
imprisonment,   to   pay   a   heavy  fine,  and  to  stand  in  the 

Eillory  on  two  market  days.  The  latter  part  of  the  sentence 
ad  taken  place  during  the  week.^  (If  the  forgerj'  affected 
real  estate,  Millard  must  have  had  his  ears  cut  off  and  his 
nose  slit.)  "  The  last  day  he  was  severely  pelted  with 
rotten  oranges  and  eggs  by  a  common  mob,  after  they  had 
overcome  tJbe  mob  which  stood  up  in  his  defence,  though 
not  'till  some  of  their  leaders  were  taken  up  and  carried  to 
Bridewell."  Stewart  records  another  case,  of  seven  years 
later  date,  in  his  manuscript  annals.  Richard  Baggs,  who 
will  be  heard  of  again,  had  been  sentenced  to  the  pillory  for 
a  filthy  offence.  **  Fearing  the  exasperation  of  the  populace, 
he  hired  100  colliers  to  protect  him,  and  provided  nimself 
with  an  iron  skull  cap,  and  thickly  covered  his  body  with 
brown  paper.  The  rioting  was  so  violent  that  the  magis- 
trates permitted  him  to  be  removed  before  the  time  fixed 
by  his  sentence."  Felix  Farley's  Journal  of  June  21st,  1766, 
states  that  a  lady  who  was  looking  at  a  pillory  exhibition 
from  a  window  in  Wine  Street,  **  had  her  eye  cut  entirely 
out  of  her  head  by  a  piece  of  glass,"  the  window  having 


1725-26.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  149 

been  smashed  by  a  cabbage  stump.  Returning  to  the  first 
mentioned  case,  the  quarter  sessions  records  show  that 
Millard  was  still  in  Newgate  in  December,  1737,  twelve 
years  after  his  conviction,  being  an  insolvent  debtor.  The 
magistrates  ordered  his  discharge,  as  concerned  his  private 
debts.  "  But  as  he  stands  indebted  to  the  Crown  for  £103, 
a  fine  inflicted  upon  him  at  the  gaol  delivery  in  1725,  he  is 
ordered  to  remain  in  custody.*'  As  nothing  more  is  heard 
of  him,  he  was  probably  released  only  by  death. 

At  the  quarter  sessions  in  October,  1725,  Sir  John  Dud- 
dleston,  grandson  and  heir  of  the  first  baronet,  prayed  for 
his  discharge  from  Newgate  as  an  insolvent  debtor,  under 
an  Act  of  the  previous  session,  and  was  liberated  accordingly. 
The  young  man  was  regarded  as  a  discredit  to  his  family 
by  his  widowed  grandmother,  who  "  cut  him  off  with  a 
shilling  '*  by  her  will,  dated  1718.  He  afterwards  obtained 
a  humble  office  in  the  Custom  House,  but  fell  into  such 
obscurity  that  his  ultimate  fate  is  unknown. 

The  upper  portion  of  Prince's  Street  was  constructed  in 
the  closing  years  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  and  the  name  ot 
the  thoroughfare  was  intended  as  a  compliment  to  Prince 
George  of  Denmark.  The  mansions  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
street  were  not  commenced  until  1726,  when  the  Corporation 
leased  several  plots  of  land  to  John  Becher,  Henry  Combe, 
and  other  wealthy  merchants,  who  undertook  to  build 
houses  on  the  sites.  One  or  two  of  these  stately  dwellings 
still  bear  the  crests  of  their  builders. 

Owing  to  the  increasing  trade  of  the  port,  which  ren- 
dered it  difficult  to  find  accommodation  for  the  numerous 
market  boats  bringing  provisions,  the  Corporation  ordered 
the  building  of  two  new  quays — one  on  the  Avon  near  the 
east  end  of  King  Street,  the  other  on  the  Froom  at  St. 
Augustine's  Back.  The  quays,  which  were  together  about 
160  yards  long,  were  completed  in  December,  1725. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  January,  1726,  "  the 
petition  of  Mr.  John  Legg,  keeper  of  Newgate,  was  read, 
setting  forth  that  he  had  within  a  year  past  been  at  very 
great  charge  in  removing  sundrj^*  prisoners  to  distant  places 
out  of  the  common  way,  and  had  executed  two  severall  per- 
sons at  the  last  Gaol  Delivery  who  might  have  been  tried  in 
the  adjacent  counties,  and  had  buried  them  at  his  own 
expense;  and  therefore  prayed  some  allowance."  After  an 
inquiry,  he  was  voted  i'8  Os,  lOd,  The  remarkable  state- 
ments of  the  gaoler  throw  a  little  more  light  on  the  caprici- 
ous treatment  of  criminals  in  that  age.    The  reader  has  been 


loO  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1726. 

already  shown  that  prisoners  sentenced  to  death  were  fre- 
quently pardoned,  when  they  or  their  friends  could  excite 
the  sympathy  of  members  of  the  Corporation.  The  above 
minute  proves  that  civic  officials  sometimes  went  out  of 
their  way  to  bring  convicts  to  the  scaffold.  The  "  removing 
of  prisoners  to  distant  places,"  of  which  the  gaoler  boasts, 
was  doubtless  effected  by  transportation,  a  form  of  punish- 
ment which  judges  were  first  authorised  to  inflict  on  com- 
mon felons  in  1718,  but  which  had  been  long  adopted  lor 
saving  the  lives  of  convicts  sentenced  to  death.  The  system 
was  conducted  with  the  looseness  characteristic  of  the  time. 
The  Government  standing  wholly  aloof — except  when  it 
accepted  felons  to  recruit  the  army  and  navy — local  authori- 
ties had  to  make  their  own  arrangements  for  shipping  off 
prisoners,  who  sometimes  lay  for  years  in  gaol  before  being 
embarked.  Occasionally,  an  enterprising  shipowner,  or  a 
ship  captain  about  to  sail  for  America,  offered  to  take  a 
batch  of  convicts  at  a  low  price,  intending  to  sell  them  as 
temporary  slaves  at  New  York  or  Baltimore ;  and  a  bargain 
was  thereupon  struck  by  the  authorities.  In  1727  Mr.  W. 
Jefferis  (mayor,  1738)  received  twelve  guineas  for  trans- 
porting lour  felons,  and  the  same  gentleman,  in  several 
succeeding  years,  performed  similar  services  at  the  same 
rate.  In  a  few  cases,  during  war  with  France,  convicts 
were  shipped  in  "  letters  of  marque,"  and  may  have  had  to 
fight.  On  several  occasions,  the  off-scourings  of  the  gaols 
were  embarked  in  vessels  carrying  honest  emigrants,  as  to 
whose  general  treatment  revelations  will  be  made  presently. 
In  these  transactions  the  speculative  shipper  naturally  de- 
mm-red  to  accept  aged  or  weakly  felons,  who  were  unlikely 
to  find  purchasers.  Thus,  in  August,  1723,  the  Common 
Council  voted   a  sum  of  ten  guineas,  "  paid  for  obtaining 

{)ardons  for  seven  prisoners  (being  mostly  women  who  have 
aine  long  in  Newgate  under  sentence  of  transportation,  and 
no  person  would  take  them).^'  In  the  State  Papers  of  1733 
is  a  letter  from  Mr.  William  Cann,  town  clerk,  to  Mr.  Scrope, 
M.P.  for  Bristol  and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  expressing 
the  desire  of  the  mayor  and  aldermen  that  one  Phillips,  con- 
demned to  death  for  horse  stealing,  should  be  transported 
for  fourteen  years,  and  that  the  necessary  warrant  should 
be  issued  at  once,  as  "  two  lusty  young  fellows  ^'  were  about 
to  be  shipped,  and  if  Phillips  did  not  accompanv  them  "  it 
would  be  difficult  to  prevail  on  any  one  to  take  him  singly, 
by  reason  of  his  being  in  years/*  In  January,  1745,  Alder- 
man Lyde  applied  to  the  Council  for  the  usual  sum  of  three 


1726.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  151 

guineas  each  for  "eight  convicts  transported  by  him,"  which 
was  ordered  to  be  paid,  but  the  minute  adds  that  four  female 
convicts  were  still  in  Newgate,  where  they  had  lain  "  a 
considerable  time,"  so  that  the  alderman  had  selected  only 
the  marketable  prisoners. 

The  Dean  and  Chapter  always  studied  economy  in  the 
arrangements  of  -the  Cathedral.  According  to  the  deed  of 
incorporation  there  should  have  been  six  lay  vicars,  or  sing- 
ing men ;  but  it  was  resolved  on  the  25th  February,  1726, 
that  the  verger  should  be  paid  £9  a  quarter,  "  including  his 
salary  as  verger  and  the  salaries  of  two  singing  men's 
places."  The  lay  vicars  were  paid  only  £12  each  yearly. 
The  then  organist,  Nathaniel  Priest,  was  also  organist  at 
All  Saints'  and  Christ  Church,  though  it  is  difficult  to  ima- 
gine how  he  fulfilled  those  united  charges. 

The  following  curious  advertisement  in  the  London  Weekly 
Journal  of  April  30th,  1726,  indicates  the  popularity  of  Hot 
Well  water.  The  trade  of  the  vendor  and  the  average  rate 
of  transit  from  Bristol  are  alike  remarkable : — "  Bristol  Hot 
Well  water.  Fresh  from  the  wells,  will  be  sold  and  delivered 
to  any  part  of  the  town  at  six  shillings  per  dozen,  with  the 
bottles,  from  Mr.  Richard  Bristow's,  goldsmith,  at  the  Three 
Bells  near  Bride  Lane,  Fleet  Street."  The  advertiser  offers 
to  prove  the  genuineness  of  the  water,  and  proceeds : — **  These 
bottles  are  of  the  largest  size,  and  by  the  extraordinary 
favour  of  the  winds  arrived  but  the  last  week  in  eight  days 
from  Bristol,  the  common  passage  being  a  month  or  six 
weeks." 

John  Jayne,  captain  of  a  Bristol  merchant  ship,  was 
hanged  and  gibbeted  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames  on  the  13th 
May,  1726,  having  been  convicted  in  the  Admiralty  Court 
of  the  atrocious  murder  of  a  cabin  boy  at  sea.  In  June, 
1733,  Rice  Harris,  commander  of  a  Bristol  slaving  ship, 
underwent  the  same  punishment  for  the  murder  of  a  seaman 
under  circumstances  of  horrible  barbarity.  The  trials  in  the 
Admiralty  Court  were  so  imperfectly  reported  in  the  London 
papers  that  other  local  cases  have  probably  escaped  attention. 

The  inconvenience  to  trafl&c  caused  by  the  "  corn  market 
house,"  standing  in  the  middle  of  Wine  Street,  having  been 
much  complained  of,  the  Corporation,  in  July,  1726,  resolved 
that  the  building  should  be  cleared  away.  (It  was  demol- 
ished in  June,  1727.)  A  house  in  Wine  Street  was  purchased 
for  £700,  and  the  Swan  Inn  in  Maryleport  Street  and  some 
adjoining  tenements  were  acquired  from  the  trustees  of 
Trinity  Hospital.     These  premises  were  removed  in  1727, 


Io2  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1726. 

and  a  new  market  house  of  two  storeys  was  erected  on  the 
site,  at  a  cost  of  about  £1,900.  The  building,  which  some 
sixty  years  later  was  converted  into  a  cheese  market,  was 
demolished  about  1885,  by  Messrs.  Baker,  Baker  &  Co.,  the 
site  being  absorbed  in  their  extended  warehouses. 

The  emigration  to  America  early  in  the  century  was  ex- 
tremely limited.  Those  who  quitted  England,  moreover, 
w^ere  generally  so  poor  that  they  were  obliged  to  sell  them- 
selves on  disembarking  to  pay  for  their  passage.  Many  were 
offered  a  free  transit  by  speculative  shipowners,  on  condition 
of  their  signing  indentures  binding  them  to  work  as  "  ser- 
vants," which  really  meant  slaves,  for  a  certain  number  of 
years.  On  the  arrival  of  each  vessel  a  sort  of  public  market 
was  held  on  board,  the  emigrants  being  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder,  and  large  profits  were  realized  by  this  traffic  in  human 
flesh.  The  young  emigrants  brought  the  best  prices,  and  it 
was  not  uncommon  for  parents  to  sell  their  children  in  order 
to  avoid  personal  servitude.  If  a  family  lost  a  member  on 
the  voyage,  the  term  of  engagement  of  the  survivors  was 
lengthened,  so  as  to  recoup  the  shipowner.  The  traffic 
flourished  in  Bristol  from  an  early  period.  The  historian  of 
Jamaica  (1774)  states  that  the  Assemblj'  of  the  island  in 
1703  relieved  a  ship  from  port  charges  if  it  imported  thirty 
white  servants,  and  that  these  emigrants,  who  were  pur- 
chased at  a  minimum  price  of  £18  in  time  of  war,  and  £14 
in  time  of  peace,  were  required  to  serve — adults  for  four 
years,  and  youths  for  seven  years — being  treated  as  "  little 
better  than  slaves."  Many  of  them,  he  adds,  were  known 
to  have  been  kidnapped,  yet  the  colonial  law  inflicted  the 
penalty  of  death  on  a  ship  captain  who  removed  an  inden- 
tured servant  from  the  island.  From  Jamaica  letters  of 
1729,  to  Isaac  Hobhouse  and  Co.,  of  Bristol,  in  the  Jefferies 
collection,  it  appears  that  the  firm  had  just  shipped  thirteen 
"  servants  "  at  London  for  the  colony.  One  of  the  emigrants 
escaped  at  Cork.  The  rest  were  sold  in  Jamaica  at  from  £13 
to  £30  a  head.  Stewart,  in  his  MS.  annals,  writes  under 
January  9th,  1725,  "  Twenty  four  persons  were  put  on  board 
the  Raphannah  frigate  bound  for  Virginia,  who  had  bound 
themselves  as  servants  for  four  years  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  colony.  Another  ship  was  then  lying  in  the  river 
bound  for  Philadelphia  on  the  same  account."  The  captains 
of  vessels  of  this  kind  were  frequently  suspected  of  securing 
passengers  by  force  or  fraud.  The  Gloucester  Journal  of 
March  25tl>,  1729,  contains  a  Bristol  paragraph  stating  that 
the  water  bailiff  had  been  sent  down  to  Hung  Road,  with 


1726.]  IN  THE  ElGnXEENTU  CENTURY.  153 

the  mayor's  warrant,  to  bring  from  a  vessel  bound  to 
Jamaica  a  young  man  who  was  forced  on  board  against 
hLs  will  by  some  relations,  but  that  the  people  in  the  ship 
beat  off  the  officer  and  threatened   to  drown  him.      The 

f)risoner,  who  was  secured  in  irons,  had  been  shortly  before 
eft  a  legacy  of  £800.  At  the  quarter  sessions  in  August, 
1736,  an  indictment  was  found  against  John  Dryland, 
mariner,  for  kidnapping  a  girl  **  and  spiriting  her  beyond 
the  seas,'-  but  his  surety  having  come  forward  to  assert  that 
the  accused  was  abroad  and  that  the  girl's  friends  declined 
to  prosecute,  the  complaisant  magistrates  allowed  the  recog- 
nisances to  be  discharged  !  From  a  curious  account,  in  the 
Gentlemaji^s  Magazine  for  1744,  of  a  girl  who,  dressed  as  a 
lad,  shipped  on  board  a  Bristol  vessel  bound  for  Virginia,  it 
would  appear  that  the  emigrants,  after  signing  indentures, 
were  sometimes  kept  three  weeks  in  Bridewell  until  their 
ship  was  ready  to  sail.  In  an  advertisement  in  the  Bristol 
Journal  of  April  6th,  1755,  inviting  "  handicraft  tradesmen, 
husbandmen  and  boys  to  go  over  to  the  most  flourishing 
city  of  Philadelphia  "  in  a  ship  of  200  tons  burthen,  lying  at 
the  Quay,  the  captain  held  out  the  usual  bait  of  "  a  new  suit 
of  clothes "  to  each  passenger.  A  similar  announcement 
appeared  in  the  Bristol  Intelligencer  of  May  7th,  1757.  The 
vessel  in  this  case  was  a  privateer,  and  the  emigrants  were 
accompanied  by  "  40  transports,"  the  dregs  of  the  neigh- 
bouring gaols.  The  contaminating  effects  of  herding  thieves 
and  cutthroats  with  honest  workmen  excited  no  remark,  and 
the  practice  was  common.  To  give  one  more  example, 
Felix  Farley's  Jonriml  of  October  26th,  1754,  pleasantly 
announced  that  "  Captain  Davis  is  arrived  at  Annapolis,  in 
Maryland,  from  this  port,  having  50  indentured  servants, 
and  69  of  the  King's  seven  year  passengers."  The  cargo 
was  doubtless  sold  off  indiscriminately  to  the  neighbour- 
ing planters. 

A  revival  of  the  movement  for  doing  honour  to  Edward 
Colston's  birthday  took  place  in  1724,  when  a  sum  of  £20 
was  raised  by  subscription  in  the  parish  of  Rf-dcliff,  and 
handed  to  the  vestry,  "  the  profits  thereof  to  be  paid  for 
ringing  the  bells  on  the  2nd  day  of  November  yearly,  for 
ever."  In  1726  a  society  styled  **The  Colston"  was 
established,  and  held  its  first  dinner  on  the  philanthropist's 
birthday,  when  £34  As.  were  subscribed  by  twenty-three 
gentlemen,  and  ordered  to  be  invested,  part  of  the  interest 
to  be  paid  for  an  annual  sermon  at  Redcliff  church,  and  the 
balance  to  Temple  school.      In  1729  the  society  raised  £50 


154  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1726. 

18«.,  "  the  profits  to  be  given  to  the  poor  (of  RedclifF)  in 
bread  on  the  2ad  November  for  ever."  No  further  sub- 
scriptions are  recorded,  but  it  became  the  custom  to  fine 
such  members  as  declined  the  office  of  president,  and  sums 
varying  from  £B  to  £bO  were  occasionally  received  in  this 
way.  It  may  be  as  well,  perhaps,  to  complete  the  story  of 
this  association,  which  eventually  became  known  as-  the 
"  Parent  Society."  In  1801  its  funds  had  accumulated  to 
£1,100,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  interest  should  be 
given  to  poor  lying-in  churchwomen,  the  wives  of  freemen 
in  Redcliff  parish,  and  the  surplus  to  other  charitable  pur- 
poses. The  fine  for  declining  the  presidency  was  raised 
soon  after  to  thirty  guineas,  and  so  many  of  these  payments 
were  made  that  the  funds  had  increased  to  £2,300  in  1840, 
the  interest  continuing  to  be  distributed  as  before.  An  odd 
blunder  remains  to  be  mentioned.  In  1752,  on  the  refor- 
mation of  the  calendar,  the  date  of  the  annual  gathering 
was  altered  from  November  2nd  to  November  13th,  with 
the  intention  of  adhering  to  the  actual  date  of  Colston's 
birth ;  but  as  that  gentleman  was  born  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  there  was  only  ten  days*  difference  in  the 
**  styles,"  the  feasts  should  have  been  held  on  the  12th. 

The  churchwardens  of  St.  James's  parish  petitioned  the 
Council  in  November,  1726,  representing  the  incapacity  of 
the  church  to  accommodate  the  greatly  increased  population, 
and  seeking  approval  of  a  scheme  for  building  a  chapel  of 
ease,  for  which  a  site  was  offered  free  of  cost.  The  petition 
was  referred  to  a  committee,  which  never  reported,  and  the 
subject  remained  dormant  for  sixty  years. 

The  Council,  on  the  7th  November,  voted  a  sum  of  £20 
to  Walter  Hawkins,  common  brewer,  *'on  account  of  his 
poverty  and  pressing  necessities."  A  further  gift  of  £10 
was  made  to  him  in  the  following  year.  It  is  probable  that 
the  recipient  was  a  son  of  John  Hawkins,  brewer  and  mayor, 
who  was  knighted  by  Queen  Anne. 

Instigated  by  the  trading  companies,  the  Corporation 
occasionally  undertook  to  punish  roguish  tradesmen.  At 
the  above  meeting  the  Chamber  ordered  that  276  pairs  of 
shoes  "  made  of  insufficient  leather,"  seized  on  the  premises 
of  a  tanner  named  Weaver,  should  be  appraised,  and  then 
purchased  by  the  city  treasurer.  In  the  following  May  the 
Council  was  informed  that  the  shoes  had  been  valued  at 
£9  4s,  (eiglitpence  a  pair!),  and  that  the  appraisers  had 
given  up  their  right  to  one-third  of  that  amount  out  of 
consideration  for  the  poor.     The  chamberlain  was  thereupon 


1726.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  155 

ordered  to  pay  the  money  to  the  poor-law  guardians.  What 
he  did  with  the  shoes  does  not  appear.  Another  seizure  of 
a  like  character  was  dealt  with  in  a  different  manner.  In 
a  Bristol  paragraph  dated  November  29th,  1726,  which 
appeared  in  the  London  Weekly  Journal^  the  writer  says : — 
"  Yesterday  was  the  general  meeting  of  our  shoemakers  in 
this  city,  and  at  the  High  Cross,  in  presence  of  our  magis- 
trates, they  burnt  a  great  number  of  shoes  made  of  seal  and 
horse  skins,  which  they  lately  seized  at  several  places.'* 
Another  seizure,  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner,  was 
reported  in  the  Gloucester  Journal  of  March  11th,  1729. 
The  destruction  of  bad  shoes  was  long  in  favour.  A  Bristol 
paragraph  in  the  London  Morning  Post  of  October  2nd,  1751, 
states  that  a  parcel  of  shoes  brought  from  Scotland  had  been 
just  burned  in  the  market,  having  been  "  judged  by  a  jury 
of  six  worthy  men  to  be  made  of  unlawful  leather." 

The  French  Protestants,  who  had  been  deprived  of  the 
use  of  St.  Mark's  church  by  its  conversion  into  a  corporate 
place  of  worship,  petitioned  the  Chamber  in  1726  for  a  lease 
of  a  plot  of  land  in  Orchard  Street  on  which  to  erect  a 
chapel.  A  site  was  granted  on  a  forty  years'  lease,  at  a 
yearly  rent  of  £1  17^.  6rf.  The  Corporation  moreover  sub- 
scribed £60  towards  the  building  fund.  The  chapel  was 
opened  in  1727.  In  1748  wine  was  advertised  as  on  sale 
"  in  a  vault  under  the  French  Chapel." 

The  establishment  of  turnpike  tolls,  with  a  view  to  im- 
prove the  wretched  roads  of  the  country,  came  into  favour 
during  the  reign  of  George  I.  According  to  the  ancient  law 
of  the  realm,  every  farmer  paying  £B0  rent  was  required  to 
give  the  service  of  a  wagon  and  team  for  six  days  yearly, 
to  work  on  the  roads  in  his  parish,  and  the  poorest  country 
labourer  or  artisan  was  under  the  same  obligation  as  re- 
garded his  own  labour.  These  provisions,  however,  were 
often  evaded,  and  in  many  districts  were  inadequate,  and 
with  the  increase  of  coaching  the  state  of  the  roads  fell  from 
bad  to  worse.  In  1726,  when  a  report  was  made  to  the 
Council  that  the  roads  leading  to  the  city  were  *^  extremely 
ruinous,"  a  vote  of  £100  was  made  for  their  repair.  But 
it  was  seen  that  more  effectual  measures  were  necessary,  and 
a  petition  was  presented  to  Parliament  in  the  following 
session  praying  for  power  to  erect  turnpike  gates.  Evidence 
was  given  before  a  committee  of  the  Commons  as  to  the 
urgency  of  the  case.  It  was  deposed  that  all  the  roads  near 
the  city  were  dangerous  to  passengers,  and  that  part  of  the 
London  road,  and  several  of  the  highways  near  Sodbury  and 


15G  THE   ANNALS    OF   BHISTOL  [1726. 

Wotton-uuder-Edge,  were  not  wide  enough  to  allow  two 
horses,  going  in  opposite  directions,  to  pass  each  other.  A 
witness  swore  that  one  of  his  horses  had  been  suffocated  in 
the  mud,  and  another  that  his  team  hail  been  saved  from  a 
slough  only  by  being  pulled  out  by  ropes.  The  road  to  Bath 
from  Temple  Gate  to  Totterdown  was  still  only  seven  feet 
wide.  The  Bill  received  the  Royal  assent  in  April,  1727. 
It  enacted  that  the  members  of  Parliament  for  Bristol, 
Gloucestershire,  and  Somerset,  the  justices  of  the  two  shires, 
the  members  of  the  Corporation,  and  a  great  number  of  local 
gentry  should  be  appointed  trustees  for  the  reparation  of  the 
roads,  with  power  to  levy  tolls.  Wagons,  etc.,  with  six 
horses  or  oxen  were  to  pay  1^.,  with  four  8d.,  with  two  4d., 
and  with  one  2d, ;  a  pack  horse  Id.,  if  with  coals  ^d  ;  there 
were  also  tolls  for  cattle  and  sheep.  The  limits  of  the  trust 
extended  from  about  ten  to  twelve  miles  on  the  chief  roads 
out  of  Bristol,  and  the  tolls  were  to  continue  for  twenty-one 
3''ears  only.  In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Act,  turn- 
pike gates  were  set  up  in  order  that  tolls  might  be  first 
collected  on  the  26th  June.  But  the  trustees  forgot  that 
they  would  have  to  reckon  with  the  lawless  mining  popula- 
tion of  Kingswood,  roused  to  wrath  by  the  charge  imposed 
on  the  horses  and  donkeys  which  brought  coal  into  the  city. 
The  colliers  assembled  in  great  numbers  and  pulled  down  all 
the  gates,  burning  some,  and  throwing  one  barrier  into  the 
Avon.  The  mayor's  letter  to  the  Government,  dated  the  28th, 
and  detailing  the  proceedings,  is  amongst  the  State  Papers. 
His  worship  wrote : — "  They  are  a  set  of  ungovernable 
people,  regardless  of  consequences.  They  extort  money  of 
people  as  they  pass  along  the  road,  and  treat  them  very 
rudely  unless  they  give  them  some.  They  have  passed 
through  this  city  with  clubs  and  staves  in  a  noisy  manner, 
but  committed  no  violence  here.  I  am  persuaded,  had  any 
opposition  been  made,  the  consequences  would  have  been 
fatal."  Some  of  the  gates  were  again  erected,  only  to  be 
demolished  in  a  few  hours,  and  the  colliers  would  suffer  no 
coal  to  enter  the  city.  The  price  of  fuel,  ordinarily  sold  at 
Is.  a  horseload,  having  risen  to  2s.  3d.,  the  Council,  on  the 
28th,  ordered  off  messengers  to  "  Swazey,  [Swansea],  to 
buy  cole  on  account  of  the  Chamber  "  for  the  use  of  the 
citizens — which  turned  out  a  somewhat  costly  procedure,  for 
the  Kingswood  men  returned  to  work,  and  the  Welsh  coal, 
when  it  arrived,  had  to  be  sold  at  a  loss  of  £215,  exclusive 
of  £4  OS.  worth  of  wine  sent  to  the  Customs  Collector  at 
"  Swanzy  "  for  his  services.   The  turnpike  trustees,  supposing 


1726.]  IJj    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  157 

the  disturbances  at  an  end,  had  the  toll-gates  reconstructed; 
but  the  colliers  again  rose,  and  burnt  the  gate  "  near  Durd- 
ham  Down."  Further  outrages  were  prevented  by  a  body 
of  soldiers,  who  captured  four  of  the  rioters,  and  the  gate 
was  restored.  But  on  the  night  after  the  troops  had  em- 
barked for  Ireland,  all  the  gates  were  again  demolished  by 
men  disguised  in  women's  clothes  and  wearing  high-crowned 
hats.  To  complete  the  joy  of  the  mischief  makers,  the  four 
men  committed  to  prison  had  to  be  released.  Parliament 
having  omitted  to  impose  any  penalty  upon  assailants  of 
turnpikes.  After  vainly  struggling  to  perform  their  func- 
tions, the  trustees  asked  for  further  legislative  powers  in 
1730,  stating  that  through  their  inability  to  borrow  money, 
the  roads  remained  wholly  unimproved.  It  was  hoped  that 
by  allowing  animals  carrjdng  coal  to  pass  toll  free,  no 
further  difficulty  would  be  encountered,  but  the  remission 
had  little  ejQfect.  In  the  State  Papers  is  a  letter  from  Sir  W. 
Codrington  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  dated  July  14th,  1731, 
stating  that  the  house  of  Mr.  Blathwaite,  of  Dyrham,  who 
had  made  himself  obnoxious  by  attempting  to  defend  the 
turnpikes,  had  been  attacked  by  400  colliers,  who  threatened 
to  demolish  it.  The  writer  rode  to  the  spot  with  twenty  of 
his  tenants  and  servants  ;  but  he  was  forced  to  release  four 
of  the  rioters  previously  captured,  and  to  give  the  rest  a 
hogshead  of  ale,  before  they  would  depart.  Nearly  all  the 
gates  were  then  down.  The  following  is  highly  significant : 
— "  I  am  afraid,  my  lord,  these  wretches  would  never  have 
been  so  impudent  if  they  had  not  been  prompted  by  men  of 
some  fortune  and  figure  ;  and  we  have  been  informed  that 
two  or  three  bailiffs,  as  we  call  them,  to  some  gentlemen, 
were  seen  to  be  a-drinking  with  the  colliers  the  evening 
before  they  were  at  Mr.  Blath waiters.*'  A  week  later,  in  a 
.  letter  dated  from  Bristol,  Sir  William  reports  that  "  the 
insolencies  of  the  rioters  are  greater  than  ever,  they 
having  cut  down  some  of  the  gates  even  at  noon  day,  and 
are  now  collecting  money  of  travellers  where  the  gates  stood. 
.  .  .  The  remaining  part  of  the  inhabited  turnpike  house 
at  Yate  was  burnt  down  last  night."  Troops  were  sent  to 
Bristol,  but  inspired  no  terror  amongst  the  rioters,  who  con- 
tinued to  defy  the  law.  The  destructive  spirit  of  the  Kings- 
wood  men  was  singularly  manifested  in  the  following  year, 
when  a  large  body  marched  to  Chippenham,  and  demolished 
the  turnpike  gate  at  Ford,  near  that  town  {London  Journal^ 
Sept.  23rd).  Two  years  later,  June,  1734,  every  gate  between 
Bristol  and  Gloucester  was  destroyed  by  armed  bands.     In 


158  THE    ANNALS    OF    DRISTOL  [1726-27. 

August,  1735,  Sir  William  Codrington informed  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  that  the  colliers  still  held  the  roads,  sometimes 
extorting  60^.  in  a  single  day,  and  that  if  the  Government 
would  not  render  more  help,  "  Go<l  knows  how  it  may  end/' 
He  added  that  a  bailiff  named  Prichet,  at  Westerleigh,  was 
"  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  affair."  To  complete  the  chaos, 
the  rural  trustees  quarrelled  with  those  representing  Bristol ; 
and  Oldmixon,  writing  in  173B,  asserted  that  "  the  roads, 
as  bad  as  most  in  England,  remain  unrepaired  to  this  day/' 
Four  years  later,  Ralph  Allen,  of  Bath,  in  giving  evidence 
on  behalf  of  a  local  turnpike  Bill,  deposed  that  the  Bristol 
Acts  were  still  inoperative,  "by  reason  the  colliers  have 
pulled  down,  and  do  constantly  pull  down,  the  turnpikes." 

The  Bristol  Newspaper  of  February  4th,  1727,  contains  the 
first  reference  yet  discovered  to  a  locality  destined  to  enjoy 
a  season  of  great  favour,  but  now  long  fallen  from  its  high 
estate.  The  paper  announces  as  to  be  let,  "a  large  new  buUt 
house,  with  coach-houses,  stables,  &c.,  situate  in  the  New 
Square  in  Dowry,''  near  the  Hot  Well.  The  square  was  not 
completed  until  many  years  afterwards. 

The  universality  of  wig  wearing  by  the  male  sex  at  this 
date  is  amusingly  testified  by  an  advertisement  in  the 
Brhtol  Newspaper  of  February  25th,  1727,  noting  the  elope- 
ment of  one  of  the  choristers  of  the  Cathedral,  14  years  of 
age,  wearing  "  a  peruke  and  a  light  drab  coat."  (In  school 
play-grounds,  according  to  the  first  Lord  Thurlow,  the  boys 
were  accustomed  to  stuff  their  wigs  into  their  breeches 
pockets.) 

At  the  quarter  sessions  in  May,  1727,  John  Boroston,  a 
barber,  was  charged  with  pretending  to  be  in  holy  orders, 
whereby  he  had  defrauded  various  persons  of  their  money 
after  professing  to  have  clandestinely  married  them.  No 
prosecutor  presenting  himself,  and  the  man  having  lain  long 
in  gaol,  he  was  discharged  on  paying  the  usual  fees.  The 
Bristol  Netcspaper  records  that  the  accused  had  "  made  it  a 
practice  to  marry  people  for  so  small  a  price  as  eighteen 
pence."  Prior  to  1764,  a  valid  marriage  could  be  celebrated 
by  a  person  in  holy  orders  at  any  time  or  place,  without 
notice,  consent  of  parents,  or  record  of  any  kind.  The  cele- 
bration of  such  marriages  naturally  fell  into  the  hands  cf 
disreputable  clergymen,  who  found  competitors  in  rogues  like 
Boroston.  The  scandal  of  these  unions  was  nowhere  greater 
than  in  the  great  seaports  when  a  fleet  of  merchantmen 
arrived,  and  when  drunken  sailors  were  sometimes  married 
by  scores  together  at  a  low  public-house.     In  the  suburbs  of 


1727.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  159 

London  at  least  one  publican  kept  a  priest  on  the  premises, 
and  married  couples  gratis  provided  they  held  their  wedding 
feast  at  his  house.  At  Bedminster,  shortly  after  this  date, 
the  Duke  of  Marlborough  inn  was  kept  by  a  clergyman,  the 
Rev.  Emanuel  Collins,  and,  if  tradition  is  to  be  trusted,  the 
shameless  extent  to  which  he  carried  on  a  similar  traffic 
contributed  to  bring  about  the  amendment  of  the  Marriage 
Law  in  1763. 

Two  prize  fights  took  place  at  the  Full  Moon  inn,  Stokes 
Croft,  during  the  month  of  June,  1727,  one  of  the  competi- 
tors in  both  battles  being  "  Mr.  Shiney,  the  champion  of  the 
West." 

The  accession  of  George  11.  was  proclaimed  with  the  cus- 
tomary ceremonies  on  the  17th  June,  1727.  The  High 
Cross  having  been  hung  with  black  cloth,  as  a  mark  of 
respect  for  tne  deceased  monarch,  the  mayor  and  corporate 
body,  clothed  in  funereal  robes,  marched  round  it,  preceded 
by  the  "  mourning  sword."  The  civic  officials  then  returned 
to  the  Council  House  to  array  themselves  in  scarlet,  and 
drink  a  bumper  to  the  health  of  the  new  king ;  and  the 
High  Cross  having  in  the  meantime  exchanged  its  gloomy 
gear  for  a  blaze  of  coloured  decorations,  the  sheriffs  made 
proclamation  amidst  a  flourish  of  trumpets.  St.  Peter's 
Cross,  Temple  Cross,  and  other  places  were  afterwards  visited 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  the  conduits  ran  wine  for  the  popu- 
lace. Further  festivities  took  place  on  the  occasion  of  the 
coronation,  October  11th.  The  Corporation  resolved  in 
January,  1732,  to  obtain  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  new 
sovereign,  directions  being  given  by  the  Chamber  for  the 
purchase  of  a  portrait.  As  no  payment  was  ever  made  to 
the  painter  of  the  two  handsome  pictures  of  George  II.  and 
Queen  Caroline,  now  in  the  Council  Chamber,  their  history 
has  hitherto  been  a  mystery.  It  appears,  however,  from  the 
diary  of  Peter  Mugleworth,  city  swordbearer,  of  which  Mr. 
Wm.  Greorge  possesses  a  copy,  that  the  portraits  were  pre- 
sented by  the  King,  and  that  they  were  set  up  on  the  12th 
June,  1732,  when  the  military  officers  in  the  city,  the  clergy, 
and  many  prominent  citizens  were  entertained  at  the  Council 
House,  the  soldiers  firing  salutes  in  Com  Street  in  honour 
of  the  loyal  toasts  drunk  within.  No  reference  to  the  gifts 
is  to  be  found  in  the  civic  minute  books,  but  the  chamberlain 
paid  the  carriage  of  the  pictures  from  London,  and  also 
"  Alderman  Day's  disbursements,  £11  4^,"  chiefly  fees  to  the 
Lord  Chamberlain's  staff. 

An  election   was,   in  those  days,  an  indispensable  con- 


IGO  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1727. 

sequence  of  a  demise  of  the  Crown.  The  writ  was  received 
early  in  September,  1727,  wlien  a  vigorous  contest  took 
place.  From  some  unexplained  cause,  Colonel  Earle,  who 
sought  reelection,  had  lost  his  former  popularity.  Sir 
Abraham  Elton  retired  in  favour  of  his  son  Abraham,  and 
the  new  Whig  candidate  was  John  Scrope,  M.P.  for  Ripon 
in  the  previous  Parliament,  who  may  fairly  be  styled  one  of 
Fortune's  favourites.  The  son  of  a  merchant  dwelling  in 
Small  Street,  Scrope,  when  very  young,  took  part  with 
several  other  Bristolians  in  Monmouth's  rebellion,  and  sub- 
sequently acted  as  an  agent  between  the  Whigs  and  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  making  one  voyage  to  Holland  in  woman's 
clothes.  After  the  Revolution  he  adopted  the  law  as  a  pro- 
fession, and  in  1708  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Barons  of 
the  Scotch  Court  of  Exchequer,  practically  a  sinecure  office, 
for  which  he  received  £&iX)  a  year,  while  Queen  Anne 
subsequently  granted  him  a  pension  of  £1,000,  in  considera- 
tion of  his  having  given  up  his  practice  at  the  English  bar. 
Having  resigned  his  judgeship  in  1724  (though  he  continued 
to  enjoy  its  title  by  courtesy),  he  w^as  now  Secretary  to  the 
Treasury,  and  a  trusted  lieutenant  of  Walpole.  The  Tory 
aspirant  was  William  Hart.  The  Bristol  correspondent  of 
the  Gloucester  Journal^  writing  on  September  9th,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  proceedings : — "  The  poll  on  Thurs- 
daj'  stood  thus :  Baron  Scroope,  766 ;  Mr.  Elton,  411 ;  Mr. 
Hart,  386 ;  Col.  Earle,  4.  Yesterday  morning  the  poll  was 
given  up  by  Mr.  Hart  (as  is  generally  said,  for  1100  guineas), 
when  he  had,  as  his  managers  say,  above  1500  men  to  go 
to  the  poll  that  could  not  have  been  corrupted,  which  so 
provoked  his  friends  that  the  mob  part  of  them  would  not 
let  him  go  home  [to  Clifton]  but  under  a  strong  guard  of 
constables  attended  by  the  mayor  and  sheriffs,  and  threat- 
ened to  pull  down  his  nouse  at  night.  Some  of  his  managers 
threaten  to  hiss  him  wherever  they  see  him,  and  some, 
instead  of  the  [gilt]  hearts  they  wore  in  their  hats  before, 
wore  knaves  of  hearts  to  express  their  abhorrence  of  his 
action.  But  on  the  other  hand  Mr.  Hart  alleges  .  .  .  the 
treachery  of  the  common  people  occasioned  by  the  un- 
common bribes  given  and  offered  by  the  opposite  party, 
.  .  .  and  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  corrupted  part  of  the 
commonalty  justly  disappointed  in  their  mercenary  expecta- 
tions." Stewart,  in  his  MS.  Annals,  says  that  seme  thought 
the  election  was  "  sold "  by  one  of  Hsurt's  managers,  who 
feared  the  contest  would  ruin  him. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  the  works  for  ren- 


1727.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  161 

dering  the  Avon  navigable  to  Bath  were  finished  in  1728. 
Even  before  their  completion  an  enterprising  person  sought  to 
make  use  of  the  water  way  for  the  transit  of  passengers,  for 
Farlexis  ^eM?«pa/>«rof  September  2nd,  1727,  records  an  accident 
to  *'  the  new  Passage  Boat  between  Bristol  and  Twerton.^' 
As  travellers  by  land  were  then  liable  to  be  pillaged  by 
turnpike  rioters  and  highwaymen,  whilst  the  roads  them- 
selves were  almost  impassable,  the  boat  had  many  patrons. 
**  Samuel  Tonkins,  the  first  and  only  waterman  on  Bath  and 
Bristol  river,"  announced  in  the  Gloucester  Journal  for  April 
15th,  1740,  that  he  had  added  three  new  boats  to  his  pre- 
vious stock,  "  with  a  house  on  each,  with  sash  windows," 
and  that  two  boats  plied  daily.  The  journey  occupied 
"  about "  four  hours,  and  the  fare  was  one  shilling. 

A  musical  festival,  probably  the  first  held  in  Bristol,  took 
place  in  the  Cathedral  on  the  22nd  November,  1727.  The 
programme  consisted  of  "  a  fine  Te  Deum,  Jubilate,  and 
Anthem,  composed  by  the  great  Mr.  Handell,  in  which 
above  30  voices  and  instruments  were  concerned."  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  two  "  consorts,"  conducted  by 
musical  rivals,  took  place  in  the  Merchants'  Hall  and  the 
Theatre  on  St.  Augustine's  Back,  **  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Musick  Society  "  taking  part  in  the  former.  The  festival 
in  the  Cathedral  was  repeated  a  year  later. 

In  1727  a  topographical  work  of  an  elaborate  character, 
in  six  quarto  volumes,  was  published  in  London  under  the 
title  of  "  Magna  Britannia,  or  a  New  Survey  of  Great 
Britain."  A  few  extracts  from  the  description  of  Bristol, 
which  appeared  in  the  fourth  volume,  may  be  worth  repro- 
duction. The  city,  says  the  writer,  **  is  very  populous,  but 
the  people  give  up  themselves  to  trade  so  entirely  that 
nothing  of  tne  gaiety  and  politeness  of  Bath  is  to  be  seen 
here ;  all  are  in  a  hurry,  running  up  and  down  with  cloudy 
looks  and  busy  faces,  loading,  carrying  and  unloading  goods 
and  merchandizes  of  all  sorts  from  place  to  place,  for  the 
trade  of  many  nations  is  drawn  hither  by  the  industry  and 
opulency  of  the  people.  This  makes  them  remarkably  in- 
solent to  strangers,  as  well  as  ungrateful  to  benefactors, 
both  naturally  arising  from  being  bred  and  becomo  rich  by 
trade  as  (to  use  their  own  phrase)  to  care  for  nobody  but 
whom  they  can  gain  by ;  but  yet  this  ill-bred  temper  hath 
produced  one  good  effect,  which  our  laAvs  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  do,  and  that  is  the  utter  extirpation  of  beggars." 
The  author  goes  on  to  refer-  to  the  large  importations  of 
Spanish  sherry,  which  "  is  therefore  {sic)  called  Bristol  Milk, 

M 


162  THE   AIJNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1727-28. 

not  only  because  it  is  as  common  here  as  milk  in  other 
places,  but  because  they  esteem  it  as  pleasant,  wholesome 
and  nourishing.  .  .  .  The  Exchange  is  situate  in  the 
heart  of  the  city.  It  consisteth  only  of  a  Piazza  on  one  side 
of  the  street,  but  hath  something  surprising  in  it,  being 
planted  round  with  stone  pillars,  which  have  broad  boss 
[brass  ?]  plates  on  them,  like  sundials,  and  coats  of  arms, 
with  certain  inscriptions  on  every  plate.  They  were  erected 
by  some  eminent  merchants,  for  the  benefit  of  writing  and 
despatching  their  affairs  on  them,  and  at  Change  time  the 
merchants  every  one  taking  up  their  standing  about,  one  or 
other  of  these  pillars,  that  masters  of  ships  and  owners  may 
know  where  to  find  them." 

Sir  Abraham  Elton,  Bart.,  one  of  the  greatest  magnates 
of  the  city,  died  on  the  9th  February,  1728,  probably  at  his 
house  in  Small  Street.  The  announcement  of  his  death  in 
the  local  newspaper  credited  him  with  what  w^as  then  con- 
sidered the  stupendous  fortune  of  £100,000,  "  which  he  ac- 
quired by  his  own  industry,  raising  himself  and  wife  from 
a  state  of  meanness  and  obscurity  into  wealth  and  notice." 
Stewart,  the  contemporary  annalist,  in  copying  this  notice, 
explains  : — "  His  father  was  a  scavenger  and  his  wife  a  milk- 
maid.'^ (Jacob  Elton,  the  father,  was  in  fact  a  market 
gardener  in  St.  Philip's  out-parish,  but  may  have  collected 
the  town  refuse  for  the  improvement  of  his  land.)  Sir 
Abraham  was  treasurer  of  Lewin's  Mead  Chapel  in  1693-4. 
By  his  will,  after  bequeathing  the  manor  of  Clevedon  to 
his  eldest,  and  the  manors  of  Whitestaunton  and  Winford 
to  his  other  surviving  son,  and  leaving  large  legacies  to  his 
widow  and  grandchildren,  he  made  bequests  to  the  Mer- 
chants' Almshouse,  Trinity  Hospital,  the  poor  of  St.  John's, 
St.  Werburgh's  and  St.  Philip's  parishes,  and  all  the  work- 
men in  his  extensive  copper  works  at  Conham,  where  he 
had  founded  a  chaj^l.  He  also  left  a  piece  of  land  in  St. 
Philip's  for  the  endowment  of  a  school  in  the  out-parish, 
and  ordered  small  yearly  payments  to  schools  at  Clevedon 
and  Winford. 

On  the  28th  March,  1728,  an  unfortunate  Bristol  book- 
seller, J.  Wilson,  appeared  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  company  with  Robert  Raikes,  printer  of  the 
Gloucester  Journal^  charged  with  breach  of  privilege.  Raikes, 
it  appeared,  had  ventured  to  print  part  of  a  news-letter 
(forwarded  by  the  celebrated  Edward  Cave),  giving  a  brief 
account  of  a  debate  in  the  Lower  House.  As  Wilson  had 
merely  sold  a  few  copies  of  the  Journal^  and  pleaded  ignor- 


1728.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  163 

ance,  he  was  discharged  ;  but  Raikes  was  kept  in  custody 
nearly  a  fortnight,  had  to  make  an  apology  on  his  knees  to 
the  Speaker,  and  was  mulcted  £40  in  fees.  In  Raikes's  copy 
of  the  Journal^  the  words,  "  The  woful  paragraph,"  are  writ- 
ten over  the  few  lines  which  cost  him  so  dearly. 

A  fiscal  interference  with  the  glass  trade,  exciting  much 
local  irritation,  was  resolved  upon  by  the  Government 
during  the  session.  With  the  object  of  preventing  smug- 
gling, the  importation  of  wine  in  bottles  and  small  casks 
was  absolutely  prohibited.  The  Bristol  glassmakers  pe- 
titioned against  the  proposal,  asserting  that  many  thousand 
persons  were  employed  in  making  bottles  for  exportation, 
which  were  reimported  filled  with  wine,  and  that  the  stop- 
page of  this  business  would  cause  the  entire  destruction  of 
the  bottle  trade  ;  but  the  protest  was  inefiectual. 

The  first  circulating  library  in  Bristol  was  announced  in 
Farley\s  Newspaper  of  March  30th,  1728.  The  proprietor, 
Thomas  Sendall,  bookseller,  "  at  the  sign  of  the  Lock's 
Head  in  Wine  Street,"  stated  that  he  had  begun  *'  a  method 
of  furnishing  curious  lovers  of  reading  with  a  great  variety 
of  books  to  read  by  the  3^ear  at  a  very  easy  rate."  Mr. 
Sendall  boasted  in  a  later  advertisement  that  his  library 
contained  no  less  than  200  volumes. 

The  pompous  and  costly  funeral  of  Mr.  John  Day  has 
been  recorded  under  1718.  In  April,  1728,  Mr.  Thomas 
Day,  eldest  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  died  at  Brentford,  leaving 
instructions  as  to  his  interment  which  shocked  the  senti- 
ments of  the  age.  His  executors  were  directed  to  bury  his 
remains  by  daylight,  in  the  churchyard  of  any  parish  in 
which  he  might  die,  permitting  no  hearse  or  coach  to  attend, 
and  giving  the  parson  a  guinea  for  doing  his  duty,  the  clerk 
ten  shillings  "for  doing  nothing,"  and  the  sexton  as  much 
for  "  making  my  bed."  No  monument  was  to  be  erected, 
and  his  cofl&n  was  to  be  "  without  any  gimcracks,  or  what 
some  people  call  ornaments."  Nothing  was  to  be  given  at 
the  funeral,  "  no,  not  wine  "  (which  was  always  given),  but 
six  labouring  men  were  each  to  have  a  guinea  and  a  bottle 
of  wine  for  bearing  him  to  the  grave.  The  deceased  loft 
considerable  property  to  his  kindred,  but  excepted  two  of 
his  nephews  in  Bristol,  Nathaniel  and  Thomas,  who  had 
only  B>?.  each,  "for  reasons  which  to  them  are  not  unknown." 
(Their  grandmother.  Lady  Day,  had  "  cut  them  oflF"  in  similar 
terms  in  1721.)  To  Mary  Blackwell,  a  grand-niece,  he  left 
£200,  "  with  all  the  furniture  in  the  Great  House  at  the 
Bridge  End,"  so  often  referred  to  in  local  history.     Thomas 


164  THE   ANNALS    OP  BRISTOL  [1728. 

Day  is  stated  by  a  contemporary  London  journal  to  have 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  Revolution,  and  to  have  enjoyed 
a  pension  of  £4U0  a  year  for  his  services  to  the  House  of 
Hanover. 

One  of  the  perennial  outbreaks  of  disease  having  occurred 
in  Newgate,  the  authorities,  who  dispensed  with  a  regular 
medical  officer,  frugally  availed  themselves  of  the  help  of 
a  surgeon  or  apothecary  who  was  incarcerated  for  debt.  In 
March,  1728,  he  was  paid  £10  "  as  a  free  gift  for  his  medicines 
and  services  to  the  sick." 

The  Princess  Amelia,  daughter  of  George  II.,  paid  a  visit 
to  the  city  on  the  9th  May,  1728,  in  compliance  with  an 
invitation  forwarded  by  the  Council  during  her  sojourn  at 
Bath.  The  Avon  having  just  been  made  navigable  from 
Bath  to  Hanham,  her  Royal  Highness,  who  detested  bad 
roads,  and  had  travelled  from  London  to  Bath  in  a  sedan 
chair,  resolved  on  making  the  journey  by  water,  and  a 
roomy  wherry  was  gaily  decorated  for  the  occasion.  The 
reader  shall  be  spared  a  lengthy  account  of  the  reception. 
The  Princess  landed  at  Temple  Back,  where  she  was  com- 
plimented by  the  mayor,  and,  having  been  handed  to  a  sedan 
chair,  she  was  conveyed  by  way  of  Thomas  Street,  High 
Street,  Small  Street,  and  the  Quay  to  Alderman  Day's  man- 
sion in  Queen  Square,  where  an  address  of  welcome  was 
presented.  After  an  entertainment  in  the  Merchants'  Hall, 
the  royal  visitor  was  driven  to  interesting  points  in  the  city, 
then  partook  of  dinner  privately  at  Alderman  Day's,  and 
finally  departed  as  she  had  come.  The  entertainment  of 
the  Princess  cost  the  Corporation  £242  lis.  11  id.,  of  which 
about  £60  were  for  wine,  £8  6*.  for  "  14  black  velvet  capps  " 
(for  the  rowers  ?),  £6  3h.  lOrf.  for  the  use  of  knives,  forks, 
and  pewter  plates,  and  Is.  6d.  for  Hot  Well  water. 

The  first  celebration  of  Royal  Oak  Day  after  the  death 
of  George  I.  was  marked  by  the  Jacobites  all  over  England 
with  unusual  rejoicing,  and  the  displa}'^  in  this  district  was 
doubtless  intensified  by  the  royal  visit  just  recorded.  A 
paragraph  in  the  following  week's  Gloucester  Journal,  dated 
B  ith.  May  29th,  states  that  "  this  morning  the  whole  city 
was  as  a  green  wood,  and  all  the  people  like  walking  boughs." 
The  oak  trees  around  Bristol  were  seriously  mutilated  to 
make  a  similar  display.  For  the  following  thirty  years  the 
10th  June,  the  Pretender's  birthday,  and  the  11th  June,  the 
date  of  George  II.'s  accession,  invariably  gave  rise  to  rival 
demonstrations. 

In  proportion  as  the  civic  treasury  increased  in  wealth, 


1728.]  IN   THB    KIGHTEBNTH    CENTURY.  165 

the  love  of  the  city  magnates  for  feasting  and  ostentation 
correspondingly  developed.  Down  to  1714  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  judges  was  considered  to  be  satisfactorily  ac- 
complished at  a  cost  of  from  £25  to  £30,  the  money  being 
paid  to  the  alderman  or  councillor  who  lent  his  house  for 
the  occasion.  The  outlay  then  gradually  increased,  and  in 
1721  Mr.  Jacob  Elton  received  £105,  while  £32  10s,  were 
paid  for  keeping  the  judges'  horses.  In  1728  the  Chamber 
resolved  that,  as  Alderman  Shuter,  who  occupied  one  of 
the  finest  houses  in  Queen  Square,  had  been  '*at  great 
trouble  and  expense  in  providing  pewter,  linen,  and  other 
necessaries  for  the  maintenance  of  the  judges  for  so  many 
[four]  years  past,"  the  sum  of  £315  should  be  granted  him. 
Next  year  Mr.  Peter  Day  was  voted  £134  for  entertaining 
the  judges  and  the  recorder.  About  this  time  the  practice 
began  of  giving  "  suppers,"  or  in  modern  speech  dinners, 
to  the  judicial  functionaries  at  the  conclusion  of  their  daily 
labours.  In  1731  the  expenditure  included  suppers  to  the 
judges  £46  38.  3rf.,  and  similar  treats  to  the  recorder  £40  5«., 
besides  the  usual  sums  for  lodgings,  servants,  and  horses. 

FarUjfs  Bristol  Newspaper  for  July  20th,  1728,  contains 
an  account  of  a  remarkably  gallant  combat  sustained  by 
a  Bristol  captain  and  crew  against  heavy  odds.  The  writer 
states  that  the  Kirtlington  galley  of  280  tons,  12  guns,  and 
17  men,  under  the  command  of  Samuel  Pitts,  was  on  her 
way  from  Jamaica  on  the  8th  June,  when  she  was  attacked 
by  a  Spanish  rover,  with  about  100  men,  armed  with  two 
swivels  and  abundance  of  blunderbusses.  The  Englishmen, 
urged  by  Pitts,  struggled  bravely,  but  after  an  hour's  fight 
within  pistol  shot,  the  overpowering  fire  of  the  enemy 
forced  the  little  baud  to  take  shelter,  and  about  fifty  of  the 
Spaniards  boarded  the  galley.  The  crew  then  rallied,  shot 
the  man  who  was  about  to  strike  the  English  flag,  and  fell 
so  furiously  on  the  assailants  that  "  in  about  an  hour's  time 
they  despatched  all  the  rest  but  two,"  who  were  severely 
wounded,  and  finally  killed.  Hereupon  the  pirate  sheered 
off,  pursued  by  the  galley,  which  fired  three  broadsides  in 
the  hope  of  sinking  her,  but  night  fell,  and  her  fate  was 
unknown.  It  was  believed  that  the  Spaniard  had  lost 
between  sixty  and  seventy  men.  Captain  Pitts  "  had  only 
four  or  five  men  wounded,  and  brought  home  his  ship  and 
cargo  in  honour  and  safety."  His  triumph  occasioned  a 
lively  feeling  of  pride  and  joy  amongst  the  citizens,  and  the 
Merchants'  Society  presented  him  with  a  splendid  piece  of 
plate,  weighing  266 i  ounces,  bearing  an  appropriate  record 


163  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1728. 

of  his  bravery.  (This  testimonial  was  purchased  by  the 
Corporation  in  1821  for  £148  16*\,  and  now  forms  part  of 
the  civic  plate.)  Through  some  unaccountable  blundering, 
Pitts's  brilliant  feat  is  recorded  in  Evans's  history  under 
1628,  and  by  Mr.  Nicholls  under  1629-30. 

The  new  representative  of  the  city,  "  Baron "  Scrope, 
received  a  new  honour  in  July,  1728,  being  appointed  Re- 
corder of  Bristol  upon  the  resignation  of  Chief  Justice  Eyre, 
who  had  held  the  office  for  twenty-four  years.  The  new 
functionary,  as  a  member  of  the  Government,  rendered  local 
merchants  great  service  in  Parliament  by  opposing  the 
attempts  of  the  African  Company  to  monopolise  the  slave 
trade.  In  1730,  when  he  came  down  to  deliver  the  gaol, 
he  was  met  some  miles  outside  the  city  "  by  a  great  number 
of  gentlemen  on  horseback,  and  forty  or  fifty  coaches,''  as 
a  demonstration  of  respect. 

The  rural  character  of  Stoke's  Croft  is  illustrated  by  an 
announcement  in  Farley\s  Newspaper  for  July  27th,  1728, 
of  a  house  and  five  acres  of  garden  ground  to  be  let  there. 
The  same  paper,  about  six  months  previously,  offered  "  four 
good  pasture  grounds  to  be  let  on  St.  Michael's  Hill." 
Another  Stoke's  Croft  garden,  of  eleven  acres,  is  mentioned 
in  1730. 

An  advertisement  in  Farley^s  Newspaper  of  December 
21st,  1728,  notifies  that  the  fair  previously  held  at  "  Points 
Pool  "  every  New  Year's  Day  would  in  future  be  held  in 
West  Street.  "For  encouragement,  the  inhabitants  will 
give  the  use  of  their  bulks  and  standings  gratis,  and  a  very 
good  ox  to  be  roasted  whole  in  the  said  street."  This  fair 
continued  throughout  the  Georgian  era,  and  was  often  the 
scene  of  great  disorder,  the  city  authorities  having  no  power 
to  interfere. 

The  years  1728  and  1729  were  marked  by  bad  harvests, 
high  prices  of  food,  and  much  consequent  misery  and  dis- 
content. Robberies  from  the  person  in  the  public  streets 
at  night  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  Owing  to  the  dearth, 
no  less  than  199  shiploads  of  grain  were  imported,  the  duties 
on  which  amounted  to  over  £26,000.  The  arrival  of  nine 
cargoes  of  wheat  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia  was  an 
unprecedented  feature  of  this  traffic.  The  clothing  trade 
being  much  depressed,  the  employers  combined  to  effect  a 
reduction  of  wages,  with  the  result  of  irritating  the  weavers 
into  acts  of  violence.  A  Bristol  paragraph  in  the  Glottcester 
Journal  of  October  8th,  1728,  stated  that  on  the  previous 
Thursday  about  600  of  tl^e  workmen  living  without  Law- 


1729.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  167 

ford's  Gate,  after  seizing  and  burning  thirty  looms  there, 
set  off  in  a  body  for  Chew  Magna,  Pensford,  and  Keynsham, 
where  they  destroyed  a  quantity  of  machinery,  pulling  down 
a  house  in  the  course  of  the  raid.  On  the  1st  and  2nd  Sep- 
tember, 1729,  there  was  another  violent  outbreak  "  outside 
the  Gate,"  in  which  many  looms  were  torn  out  of  the  em- 
ployers' houses  and  burnt  in  the  streets.  A  much  more 
serious  affair  occurred  on  the  29th  September.  The  weavers 
met  at  Kingswood,  and,  after  marshalling  their  forces, 
marched  to  the  house  of  Stephen  Fecham,  in  Castle  Ditch, 
where  they  threatened  to  pull  down  the  dwelling  and  mur- 
der the  occupier  on  the  ground  that  he  paid  his  workmen 
Is,  per  piece  less  than  was  given  by  other  masters.  (They 
had  demolished  another  house  on  the  Saturday  before,  says 
a  contemporary  reporter,  and  beaten  off  a  body  of  soldiers.) 
Fecham  had  made  preparations  for  resistance,  and  fired 
''  several  musquetoons  "  into  the  crowd,  whereby  five  of  the 
rioters  were  killed  and  two  mortally  wounded.  The  regi- 
ment brought  to  the  spot  also  fired  several  volleys,  though 
only,  it  was  believed,  of  blank  cartridge.  One  of  the  ser- 
geants was  killed  by  an  accidental  shot  from  Fecham's  house. 
The  affair  excited  great  popular  indignation,  and  a  coroner's 
jury  in  the  out-parish  of  St.  Philip  returned  a  verdict  of 
wilful  murder  against  Fecham,  who,  to  escape  the  conse- 
quences, appealed  ibr  the  protection  of  the  Government. 
In  the  State  Papers  is  a  letter  from  him  stating : — "  The 
coroner  of  the  county  of  Gloucester  intends  to  endite  the 
officers  of  the  out-parish  for  not  taking  me  up,  so  I  should 
be  glad  if  any  way  can  be  found  to  move  it  out  of  his  power." 
Mr.  Scrope  obtained  for  him  the  King's  pardon,  which  he 
pleaded  at  the  assize,  and  was  liberated.  One  of  the  rioters 
was  sentenced  to  death,  and  afterwards  hanged.  At  the 
summer  assizes  at  Gloucester  four  weavers  were  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  death  for  destroying  looms  and  cloth  in 
the  eastern  suburbs  of  the  city.  (These  outrages,  as  well 
as  a  serious  riot  in  Temple  Street,  occurred  after  the  Castle 
Ditch  tragedy.)  One  culprit  only  was  executed.  He  de- 
clared that  the  riots  were  solely  due  to  the  masters  having 
reduced  wages  at  a  time  when  the  weavers  were  starving. 
Soon  afterwards  Fecham  absconded  under  disgraceful  cir- 
cumstances, when  the  weavers  (13th  March,  1731)  carried 
his  effigy  in  a  cart  to  the  city  gallows,  hanged  it  there 
amidst  loud  acclamations,  and  afterwards  gibbeted  it  at 
Lawford's  Gate  (Stewart's  MS.).  Three  days  later  some  of 
Fecham's  friends  attempted  to  cut  the  gibbet  down,  "  but 


168  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1729. 

the  weavers  immediately  beat  to  arms  with  a  frying-pan, 
and  collected  money  on  purpose  to  pay  a  watch,  and  guard 
at  night-time  "  {London  Journal^  March  25th).  In  the  fol- 
lowing May  the  magistrates,  by  virtue  of  their  statutable 
powers,  established  "  a  table  of  rates  of  wages  payable  to 
weavers  for  divers  sorts  of  goods,"  and  all  masters  and  men 
were  required  to  abide  by  the  same  "  under  the  pains  in- 
flicted by  law."  It  would  appear  that  the  men  could  not 
earn  more  than  about  a  shilling  a  day,  which  was  inadequate, 
in  seasons  of  dearth,  to  supply  an  average  family  with 
bread. 

Although  the  country  was  at  peace,  the  Government  found 
it  impossible  to  obtain  the  few  men  required  for  the  navy 
except  by  impressment.  Read^s  Journal  contains  a  pai^a- 
graph  from  Bristol,  dated  April  19th,  1729,  stating  that  the 
press-^angs  systematically  seized  the  crews  of  vessels  enter- 
ing Kmgroad,  and  that  the  captains  of  outward  bound  ships, 
to  avoid  similar  losses,  allowed  the  pilots  to  conduct  the 
barques  as  far  as  the  "  Holmbs,"  while  their  men  stole  down 
the  country,  and  were  taken  up  by  boats. 

The  excessive  prevalence  of  duelling  amongst  the  upper 
classes  at  this  period  occasionally  led  to  its  adoption  by  hot- 
headed young  tradesmen.  In  a  letter  dated  May  3rd,  1729,  a 
Bristol  correspondent  of  the  (London)  Weekly  Journal  gives 
the  following  amusing  account  of  a  local  "  affair  of  honour  " : — 
"  There  happening  lately  a  quarrel  between  a  young  gentle- 
man and  a  tradesman  of  this  city,  the  latter  gave  the 
former  a  challenge  to  fight  him  at  sword  and  pistol,  which 
he  accepted,  and  accordingly  went  this  morning  to  the  Nine 
Trees  (the  place  appointed  to  decide  the  dispute,  near  the 
city)  with  one  friend  with  him,  where  he  was  prepared  with 
a  sword  and  a  brace  of  pistols,  expecting  his  antagonist 
equipped  with  the  like  utensils  ;  but  to  his  no  little  surprise 
the  tradesman  brought  up  his  mother,  &c.,  for  seconds,  with 
a  rusty  pistol  without  a  flint,  and  instead  of  performing  his 
challenge  declined  fighting  with  pistols,  and  would  have 
boxed  the  said  gentleman,  his  mother  offering  ten  guineas 
upon  his  head,  which  the  gentleman  declined,  as  not  being 
according  to  the  challenge  given  him." 

Prize  fighting  by  women  was  also  common  at  this  date. 
Farley^ 8  Newspaper  of  May  31st  contains  the  following : — 
"  Monday  next,  at  the  Green  Dragon,  upon  St.  Michael's 
Hill,  is  to  be  a  compleat  Boxing  Bout  by  Moll  Buck,  of  this 
city,  and  Mary  Barker,  from  London,  for  seven  guineas. 
The  latter  has  fought  manj'^  prizes  at  Sword  and  Staff,  and 


1729.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  169 

she  designs  to  perform  the  same  at  Bedminster  one  day  next 
week." 

The  city  gaol  was  practically  cleared  of  insolvent  debtors 
about  this  time,  by  virtue  of  one  of  the  haphazard  **  Acts  of 
Grace  "  which  Parliament  was  accustomed  to  pass  when  the 
complaints  of  the  unhappy  people  wrung  temporary  atten- 
tion to  their  sufferings.  All  this  class  of  prisoners  was  re- 
leased, save  those  owing  more  than  1600.  According  to  a 
London  news  letter  of  May  31st,  the  almost  incredible  number 
of  97,248  debtors  applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  statute. 

A  costly  local  funeral  is  recorded  in  the  (London)  Weekhj 
Journal  of  July  26th.  "  Cornelius  Stevens,  Esq.,  of  Queen 
Square,  the  noted  beau,"  having  died  about  the  beginning 
of  the  month,  his  remains  were  placed  in  a  coffin  covered 
with  crimson  velvet,  and  lay  in  state  for  nearly  a  week. 
Twelve  carriages  with  six  horses  each  carried  the  mourners 
to  St.  James's  Church,  preceded  by  a  hearse  covered  with 
heraldic  escutcheons ;  but  the  mob,  as  was  its  custom,  tore 
off  the  glittering  panoply,  "  and  acted  so  violently  that  the 
ceremony,  for  which  the  deceased  had  left  £300,  was  shorn 
of  its  grandeur.'' 

The  extraordinary  looseness  of  the  police  of  the  streets  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  minute  of  the  vestry  of  St. 
Stephen's,  dated  September  4th : — "  Inasmuch  as  many  annoj'^- 
ances  have  been  done  to  the  church  by  many,  by  throwing 
grains,  street  dirt,  ashes,  rubbish,  and  likewise  by  putting 
tanners'  bark,  hides,  bricks,  hopps,  hay,  &c.  against  the 
church,  as  well  as  by  putting  boards  and  boxes  against  the 
walls  and  before  the  door,"  orders  were  given  to  prosecute 
the  persons  committing  such  nuisances.  The  resolution 
proceeds: — "  And  we  have  also  agreed  that  a  turnpike  shall 
be  erected  and  set  opposite  to  the  vestry  room."  A  fortnight 
later,  the  vestry  resolved  that  "  whereas  there  hath  been  for 
time  out  of  mind  a  turnpike  in  the  lane  near  St.  Stephen's 
Church  which  is  now  decayed,"  a  new  one  should  be  erected 
at  the  same  place.  The  "  turnpikes  "  were  doubtless  turn- 
stiles. 

A  movement  for  the  suppression  of  drunkenness  and  pro- 
fanity sprang  up  about  this  time  in  Bristol  and  other  towns. 
The  remedy  propounded  for  these  offences  was  the  stocks, 
which  were  in  great  favour  amongst  local  aldermen  during 
the  last  six  months  of  1729.  Incorrigible  drunkards  were 
incarcerated  for  four  hours.  Persons  convicted  of  cursing  or 
swearing  were  held  in  durance  for  from  one  to  four  hours 
according  to  the  number  of  their  offences.     One  man,  who 


170  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1729-30. 

had  been  not  only  "prophane,"  but  drunk,  was  ordered  to 
be  exhibited  no  less  than  six  hours.  Females  were  fre- 
quently subjected  to  the  punishment,  and  to  the  same  pain- 
ful extent  as  men.  All  these  offenders,  however,  were  rather 
pitied  than  tormented  by  the  populace,  and  the  magisterial 
severity  was  ineffectual.  In  December  the  last  instance  is 
recorded  of  another  unavailing  chastisement.  A  woman  and 
two  men  having  been  convicted  of  lewdness,  the  aldermen  (no 
less  than  nine  of  whom  attached  their  signatures  to  the 
judgment)  ordered  "  that  they  all  three  be  put  on  horseback 
and  ride ''  through  the  streets  "  according  to  the  ancient 
custom  of  this  city." 

A  record  of  an  unusually  hea\^  rainfall  in  November, 
1729,  incidentally  acquaints  us  with  the  state  of  the  roads 
around  Bristol.  Several  travellers,  says  a  local  newspaper, 
were  obliged  to  swim  their  horses  in  order  to  reach  the  city, 
"  as  did  the  Bath  coach  for  a  considerable  way." 

On  the  death,  in  1730,  of  Robert  Booth,  who  had  been 
dean  of  Bristol  for  twenty-two  years,  the  office  was  conferred 
on  Samuel  Creswicke,  a  descendant  of  an  eminent  local  family 
in  the  previous  century,  and,  by  the  gift,  of  the  Corporation, 
incumbent  of  St.  James's.  Dr.  Creswicke  seems  to  have 
held  clerical  conventionalities  in  slight  esteem.  In  the 
British  Museum  is  a  letter  of  Berkeley  Seymour,  a  Bitton 
squire  (murdered  in  1742  by  his  brother  William,  who  was 
hanged  for  the  crime),  to  a  neighbour,  whose  name  does  not 
appear.  The  missive,  which  is  dated  August,  1730,  states 
that  in  default  of  a  satisfactory  answer  by  the  bearer  about 
the  repayment  of  money  arbitrarily  taken  from  the  writer's 
tenants,  *'  I  will  demand  justice  of  you  this  afternoon  at  your 
door  with  my  sword.  If  your  neighbour,  Mr.  Justice  Cres- 
wicke, has  a  mind  to  divert  himself  that  way,  my  cousin 
Bowles,  who  has  come  from  Bristoll  on  purpose,  has  a  sword 
at  his  servis ;  and  if  the  tall  learned  divine.  Dr.  Creswicke, 
the  present  worthy  dean  of  Bristoll,  has  any  inclination  to 
be  of  the  party,  the  habit  of  a  dragoon  which  he  generally 
wears  will  be  proper  for  the  occasion  :  a  young  fellow  of 
King's  Collegde  shall  throw  more  Greek  and  Latin  in  his 
teeth  than  he  will  be  able  to  digest  in  twelve  months." 
In  1739  Dr.  Creswicke  was  promoted  to  the  deanery  of 
Wells,  but  continued  to  hold  his  Bristol  parish.  At  his  resi- 
dence, Haydon,  near  Wells,  he  ordered  a  cockpit  to  be  con- 
structed, so  that  he  and  his  guests  could  witness  the  "sport" 
from  his  dining-room,  the  window  of  which  was  enlarged  for 
the  purpose.    The  death  of  Dean  Booth  put  an  end  to  a  long 


1730.1  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  171 

standing  quarrel  between  the  cathedral  authorities  and  the 
Corporation. 

The  year  1730  was  made  memoral^le  in  England  by  the 
outbreak  of  a  previously  unknown  species  of  crime,  invented 
by  a  few  miscreants  in  Bristol,  but  which  rapidly  spread  in 
all  directions.  The  trick: conceived  by  the  knaves  was  of  the 
simplest  character.  A  letter  was  thrown  into  a  warehouse 
or  shop,  threatening  that  if  a  certain  sum  of  money — gener- 
ally eight  or  ten  guineas — was  not  deposited  in  a  certain 
secluded  place,  the  building  would  be  burnt  down  or  the 
owner  murdered.  It  was  not  discovered  when  this  practice 
commenced,  for  the  villains  at  first  exacted  secrecy,  and  pro- 
bably many  persons  submitted  in  silence  to  the  extortion. 
About  the  end  of  September,  however,  a  Mr.  Packer,  whose 
house  adjoined  the  shipbuilding  yard  of  Mr.  Clement,  near 
Trinity  Stireet,  received  several  letters  with  demands  for 
money,  with  which  he  refused  to  comply ;  and  the  conspi- 
rators, resolving  to  strike  general  terror,  set  fire  to  his  house 
on  the  night  of  Saturday,  the  3rd  October.  TIiq  building 
was  burnt  to  the  ground,  but  the  premises  of  Clement,  from 
whom  money  had  also  been  demanded,  escaped  uninjured. 
On  the  following  day,  a  letter  was  flung  into  a  Mr.  Boltby's 
shop,  stating  that  Packer  could  have  prevented  the  fire  if 
he  had  placed  ten  guineas  in  the  place  assigned,  and  that 
the  writers  would  pursue  him  if  he  went  into  twenty  houses, 
and  murder  him  at  the  first  opportunity.  Another  paper 
threatened  to  set  the  whole  city  in  flames.  Packer  that  day 
took  refuge  at  a  house  in  Canons'  Marsh,  adjoining  the  ware- 
house of  Messrs.  Teague  and  Farr,  in  which  cordage  and 
hemp  to  the  value  of  £10,000  were  stored.  During  the  night 
fire-balls  were  flung  into  this  warehouse,  but  the  flames  were 
extinguished.  The  whole  city  was  aroused  by  the  malignity 
of  the  criminals,  the  wutch  was  doubled,  and  voluntary  aid 
was  plentifully  ofiered  to  the  authorities.  In  a  few  days 
several  persons  were  arrested  on  suspicion,  some  being  sent 
for  security  to  Bath  and  Ilchester  gaols ;  but  the  real  cul- 
prits remained  at  liberty.  Letters  were  still  thrown  about 
threatening  to  bum  various  buildings,  as  well  as  the  shipping 
at  Sea  Mills  dock,  and  a  reward  of  £500  oflfered  for  the  detec- 
tion of  the  gang  was  without  eflfect.  Owing  to  repeated 
threats  to  destroy  Mr.  Clement's  shipyard,  it  was  guarded  by 
soldiers  for  several  weeks.  The  terrorism  which  had  been 
so  profitable  to  its  original  inventors  speedily  found  imi- 
tators amongst  the  criminals  of  neighbouring  towns,  and 
"  threatening    letters "    were   soon   disseminated  in  every 


172  THE   AXKALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1730. 

county  in  the  kingdom,  exciting  universal  alarm.  The 
Bristol  malefactors  were  doubtless  ruffians  of  the  lowest 
class,  but  many  ruined  gamblers  and  unscrupulous  knaves 
in  other  localities  had  recourse  to  a  proceedfng  by  which 
money  could  be  so  easily  gained. 

The  story  of  the  panic  gives  us  also  a  glimpse  into  the 
treatment  of  suspected  but  innocent  persons  awaiting  trial 
in  Newgate.  A  man  named  Power,  son  of  a  Dublin  attorney, 
happened  to  be  in  Bristol  on  the  day  when  Packer's  house 
was  destroyed.  Being  a  stranger  and  in  poor  circumstances, 
he  fell  under  suspicion,  and  upon  a  little  girl  declaring  that 
she  had  seen  him  throw  the  letter  into  Boltby's  shop  he  was 
arrested.  Two  other  children  next  asserted  that  he  had 
given  them  letters  to  throw  into  Packer's  house,  whereupon 
he  was  committed  for  trial  and  thrown  into  the  "  Pit "  at 
Newgate — an  underground  dungeon  generally  reserved  for 
condemned  convicts.  There,  as  ne  told  the  jury  at  his  trial, 
he  was  "  chained  down  to  a  staple,  and  was  kept  fourteen 
weeks  and  three  days,  in  the  winter  weather,  without  pen, 
ink,  paper,  fire  or  candle,  far  distant  from  my  relatives  and 
destitute  of  money,  and  have  now  suffered  almost  twelve 
months'  imprisonment."  The  evidence  against  him  being 
quite  untrustworthy,  he  was  acquitted,  but  he  was  compelled 
to  pay  the  gaoler's  fees  before  his  liberation.  The  marvel  is 
that  he  escaped  with  his  life.  During  the  spring  assizes  of 
1730,  at  Taunton,  the  Lord  Chief  Baron,  the  sheriff  of 
Somerset,  a  serjeant-at-law,  and  several  judicial  officers  died 
from  gaol  fever,  owing  to  the  horrible  condition  of  some  of 
the  prisoners  brought  from  Ilchester  gaol. 

During  the  alarm  caused  by  the  incendiaries,  the  Common 
Council  was  inspired  by  the  happy  thought  that  it  would  be 
useful  to  the  citizens  to  know  where  they  could  find  a  con- 
stable in  an  emergency.  It  was  therefore  ordered  that  a 
"  painted  staff"  should  be  affixed  at  the  door  of  each  con- 
stable. Those  officials,  however,  disliked  a  regulation  which, 
in  times  of  riot,  exposed  their  dwellings  to  the  vengeance  of 
the  rabble,  and  the  symbol  of  law  and  order  seems  to  have 
often  disappeared  when  it  was  most  sought  for.  Another 
order,  issued  by  the  magistrates,  required  the  twelve  watch- 
men who  guarded  the  city  during  the  night  to  remain  on 
duty  from  10  p.m.  to  6  a.m.  during  the  winter  months,  each 
man  to  receive  9rf.  per  night  for  his  pains. 

A  coach  undertaking  to  perform  the  journey  between 
Bristol  and  Salisbury  in  one  day,  during  the  summer  season 
only,  started  for  the  first  time  on  the  26th  March,  1730. 


1730-31.]        IN  THB  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  173 

The  Elizabethan  mansion  called  R3dland  Court  was  de- 
molished in  or  about  1730  by  order  of  Mr.  John  Cossins,  the 
owner,  who  commissioned  John  Sbrahati,  a  Bristol  architect, 
to  erect  the  handsome  building  in  the  Italian  style  now 
standing  on  the  same  site.  Mr.  Cossins  afterwards  built  and 
endowed  a  chapel  on  Redland  Green,  for  the  use  of  his  house- 
hold and  of  the  handful  of  families  then  dwelling  in  the 
neighbourhood.  It  was  opened  for  public  worship  on  the 
6th  October,  1743. 

A  paper  war  in  the  local  press  between  rival  practitioners 
affords  a  glimpse  of  the  costume  of  the  medical  profession  at 
this  time.  One  of  the  antagonists  sneers  at  the  other's 
"  monstrous  wig,  ornamental  sword,  velvet  sleeves,  and 
fashionable  great  cloak.*'  We  learn  from  other  sources  that 
the  cloak  then  worn  by  the  middle  and  upper  classes  was 
always  of  blazing  scarlet. 

In  consequence  of  numerous  representations  of  the  citizens, 
a  committee  of  the  Council  reported  in  February,  1731,  that 
the  times  fixed  for  holding  the  two  great  local  fairs  were  in- 
convenient and  prejudicial  to  traders,  for  whose  relief  it  was 
recommended  that  the  summer,  or  St.  James's,  fair  should 
in  future  commence  on  the  1st  September,  and  the  winter, 
or  St.  Paul's,  fair  on  the  Ist  March.  The  report  was  adopted, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  the  minutes  to  show  that  the  altera- 
tions did  not  forthwith  take  place.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Corporation  had  no  power  to  change  the  dates  except  undci 
legislative  authority,  and  an  Act  for  that  purpose  was  not 
even  applied  for  until  37  years  afterwards.  The  committee 
also  reported  that  the  standings  set  up  in  Wine  Street 
during  St.  James's  fair  were  a  common  nuisance,  and  should 
be  suppressed,  but  as  the  sheriffs  were  entitled  to  exact  fees 
from  the  stall-holders,  it  was  suggested  that  similar  stand- 
ings might  be  erected  in  Broadmead.  These  recommenda- 
tions were  also  approved,  and  the  Council  further  resolved 
that  the  stalls  annually  set  up  about  the  High  Cross  should 
be  thenceforth  prohibited.  The  sheriffs  subsequently  com- 
plained that  their  income  had  been  reduced  by  the  removal 
of  the  Wine  Street  standings,  and  they  were  voted  a  yearly 
compensation  of  £20.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  descrip- 
tion of  the  city  during  fair  time  has  been  preserved.  From 
casual  references  in  newspapers  and  letters,  the  scene,  especi- 
ally during  the  summer  lair,  must  have  been  one  of  remark- 
able animation  and  gaiety.  Lengthy  preparations  were 
made  for  the  great  local  event  of  the  year.  The  corporate 
records  show  that  other  business  was  frequently  thrust  aside 


174  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1731. 

until  "  after  the  fair,"  in  order  that  the  civic  mind  might  not 
be  disturbed  in  maturing  its  arrangements.  When  the  day 
at  length  arrived,  gentry,  farmers,  and  well-to-do  tradesmen, 
with  their  families,  arrived  from  the  neighbouring  counties 
and  South  Wales,  and  the  citizens  offered  generous  hospital- 
ity to  their  country  friends.  Home  manufactures  of  every 
description  poured  in  by  means  of  wagons  and  pack-horses, 
and  London  mercers  and  milliners  eagerly  hired  shops  in 
the  oddest  localities — the  Pithay  was  one  of  their  favourite 
nooks—  in  order  to  dazzle  provincial  eyes  with  their  fashion- 
able wares.  What  seems  still  stranger  to  modern  ideas,  the 
fair  was  extensively  attended  by  wholesale  purchasers  of 
foreign  merchandise.  A  London  journal  of  July,  1729,  con- 
tains a  report  from  Bristol  lamenting  that  "  sugars  are  very 
scarce  here  for  want  of  the  Jamaica  fleet,  which  is  a  great 
disappointment  to  our  fair."  How  extensive  was  the  busi- 
ness transacted  may  be  imagined  from  a  petition  presented 
to  the  House  of  Commons  by  the  Corporation  in  1697,  in 
which  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  £160,000  in  old  silver  coin 
would  be  brought  to  the  next  fair  from  Wales  and  other 
districts.  Goldsmiths,  the  bankers  of  the  time,  arrived  from 
distant  places  and  set  up  standings  for  carrying  on  their 
business  in  the  Meal  Market  (afterwards  the  Guard  House) 
in  Wine  Street.  The  week  was  as  notable  for  its  amuse- 
ments as  for  business.  A  company  of  play-actors  was  rarely 
wanting,  and  all  the  peripatetic  conjurors  and  showmen  of 
the  midland  counties  and  the  south  of  England  flocked  in  to 
compete  for  the  smiles,  and  pence,  of  a  public  eager  to  be 
entertained.  The  grossest  impostures  were  practised  with 
impunity.  Southey  records,  as  a  youthful  reminiscence, 
that  he  once  saw  a  shaved  monkey  exhibited  as  a  veritable 
fairy  ;  while  a  shaved  bear,  in  a  checked  coat  and  trousers, 
was  sitting  in  a  great  chair,  and  styled  an  Ethiopian 
savage. 

On  the  16th  Februar5%  1731,  a  petition  was  presented  to 
the  House  of  Commons  from  the  merchants  of  Bristol  trading 
with  America,  complaining  of  harassing  interruptions  to 
trade,  caused  for  several  years  by  Spanish  ships  of  war. 
Several  Bristol  ships  having  been  plundered  and  captured, 
the  petitioners  prayed  for  relief.  A  committee  having  been 
appointed  to  investigate  the  case,  a  number  of  Bristol  cap- 
tains and  sailors  gave  evidence  as  to  the  cruel  treatment 
they  had  undergone.  The  committee  reported  that  the 
petitioners  had  fully  proved  their  allegations.  A  message 
was  soon  afterwards  read  to  the  House,  declaring  that  the 


1731.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  175 

King  would  take  steps  to  prevent  depredations,  and  to  pro- 
cure satisfaction  for  the  damages  already  sustained.  The 
truth  was  that  the  English  merchants  were  carrying  on  an 
extensive  smuggling  trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies,  for 
which  their  vessels  were  often  seized  by  the  Spanish  coast- 
guards. The  matter,  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  brought  about 
a  war  between  the  two  countries.  The  Bristol  merchants 
appear  to  have  suflfered  severely  before  appealing  to  the 
House  of  Commons.  In  a  memorandum  book  once  belong- 
ing to  Edward  Southwell,  M.P.  for  Bristol  in  1760,  now  in 
the  British  Museum,  is  a  brief  jotting  to  the  effect  that  a 
Mr.  Hawksworth  and  other  Bristolians  claimed  £60,000  as 
compensation  for  losses  between  1718  and  1721. 

Although  the  growing  traflfic  caused  by  increased  popula- 
tion gave  rise  to  complaints  as  to  the  inconvenience  of  the 
gateways  into  the  city,  the  Corporation  was  in  no  humour  to 
remove  those  ancient  defences.  Lawford's  Gate  was  **  re- 
paired and  beautified  "  in  1721,  although  it  was  so  narrow 
as  to  cause  a  daily  block  of  traffic.  A  petition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Temple  parish,  in  1730,  asserting  that  Temple  Gate 
was  so  low  and  narrow  as  to  be  highly  incommodious  and 
dangerous,  met  with  no  response.  The  people  of  Redcliff 
having  complained  of  the  Gate  in  that  parish,  and  being 
more  influential,  the  Council  resolved,  in  1731,  not  to  remove 
the  obstruction,  but  to  rebuild  it,  and  £260  were  spent  in 
rearing  a  very  ugly  and  inconvenient  structure.  In  1734  it 
was  found  indispensable  to  improve  Temple  Gate  also.  It 
was  consequently  rebuilt  in  a  '*  rustic  classic  "  style,  with  an 
extremely  narrow  roadway  for  carriages,  and  two  passages 
for  pedestrians.  The  expenditure  was  £476.  As  the  gates 
could  not  accommodate  the  traffic,  the  Chamber  persisted  in 
accommodating  the  traffic  to  the  gates.  An  influential 
committee,  in  Februaiy,  1731,  asserted  that  the  entry  into 
the  city  of  wains  and  carts  having  iron-bound  wheels  was  a 
public  nuisance,  and  recommended  that  all  such  vehicles, 
except  the  London  wagons  unloading  at  St.  Peter's  Pump, 
and  a  few  others,  should  be  forbidden  to  pass  along  the 
streets.  The  Chamber  adopted  this  advice,  and  the  fine 
for  infringing  the  regulation  was  fixed  at  6.9.  Sd.  The 
**  nuisance  "  nevertheless  was  not  abated  ;  for  in  January, 
1736,  a  committee  was  fruitlessly  appointed  to  suppress 
"  the  growing  evil ''  of  heavy  cart  traffic.  A  misdated  note 
amongst  Mr.  Seyers  MSS.,  founded  on  the  remembrance  of 
an  old  citizen,  must  belong  to  about  this  time.  The  state- 
ment is  to  the  effect  that  the  Corporation  prohibited  carts 


176  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1731. 

and  wagons  from  crossing  Bristol  bridge,  compelling  the 
drivers  to  unload  hay,  etc.,  on  sledges,  but  that  "  about 
1720,'^  Mr.  Smyth,  of  Ijong  Ashton,  denying  the  right  of  the 
authorities  to  do  this,  one  day  took  the  whip  from  one  of  his 
carters  and  personally  drove  a  loaded  wagon  over  the  bridge, 
"  since  which  time  the  passage  of  wagons  has  been  per- 
mitted." Another  civic  report,  presented  in  1731,  was 
inspired  by  the  old  prejudice  against  "  foreigners."  A  com- 
mittee reported  that  they  had  obtained  evidence  that  a 
freeman  named  John  Clark,  a  mercer  in  Wine  Street,  had 
been  secretly  in  partnership  with  one  John  Steward,  a  for- 
eigner, whose  merchandise  he  had  "  covered  "  from  town 
dues,  contrary  to  his  oath.  Clark,  who  was  Steward's 
brother-in-law,  was  disfranchised  by  the  Chamber.  In  De- 
cember, 1736,  it  was  reported  to  the  House  that  Clark  con- 
tinued to  carry  on  business  in  Wine  Street.  After  being 
persistently  worried,  he  at  length  begged  for  readmission  as 
a  free  burgess,  and  paid  a  fine  of  £30. 

In  the  meantime,  a  number  of  unfortunate  people  were 
arrested  for  following  a  trade  to  which  they  had  not  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years.  They  were  generally 
committed  for  trial,  and,  if  unable  to  find  bail,  they  often 
lay  several  weeks  in  the  unhealthy  gaol.  The  absurdity  of 
the  law  was  admitted  by  all  except  the  selfish  interests  that 
put  its  powers  in  force,  and  on  only  one  occasion  did  the 
prosecutors  obtain  a  conviction,  with  a  fine  of  40«. 

Although  the  early  newspapers  were  remiss  in  chronicling 
local  disasters  caused  by  the  flooding  of  the  Froom,  there 
can  be  no  question  that  that  river  was  a  frequent  terror  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Broadmead  and  the  adjacent  district.  In 
the  summer  of  1731  the  Corporation  spent  the  large  sum  of 
£337  12s.  6d,  in  "making  new  sluices  at  St.  James's  Mills 
for  the  better  venting  of  the  water  in  great  freshes." 

The  Council,  in  September,  1731,  ordered  that  markets  for 
the  sale  of  hay  should  be  established  in  Broadmead  for 
Gloucestershire  produce,  and  in  Temple  Street  for  that  of 
Somerset.  Hay  arriving  by  water  was  to  be  sold  on  the  Quays. 
The  chief  intention  of  the  arrangement  was  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  heavy  carts  through  the  central  streets.  A  ma- 
chine for  weighing  loaded  carts,  the  first  introduced  into  the 
city,  was  purchased  for  the  Broadmead  market  in  1738. 

The  year  1731  is  notable  for  the  definite  establishment  in 
Bristol  of  a  manufacture  for  which  the  city  continues  to  be 
iamous.  Farley^n  Bristol  Newspaper  of  August  21st  contains 
the  following  advertisement: — **Hi8  Majesty  having  been 


1731.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  177 

pleased  to  grant  to  Walter  Churchman,  of  Bristol,  Letters 
Patent  for  the  sole  use  of  an  Engine  by  him  invented  for  the 
expeditious,  fine,  and  clean  making  of  Chocolate  to  greater 
perfection  than  by  any  other  method  in  use,  the  patentee 
purposes  to  sell  his  Chocolate  at  the  common  prices.  .  .  . 
N.B.  Buyers  of  shells  may  be  furnished  with  any  quantities 
of  them  at  a  low  price  at  his  house  in  Broadmead."  After 
the  death  of  the  inventor,  the  business  was  carried  on  by  his 
son  Charles,  a  solicitor,  who  lived  at  the  premises  in  Broad- 
mead.  The  latter  died  in  May,  1761,  and  in  the  following 
month  the  Bristol  Journal  announced  for  sale  ^^  the  Castle 
Mills  of  Bristol,  with  all  the  buildings  adjoining,  late  the 
estate  of  Mr.  Charles  Churchman.  .  .  .  And  also  the 
said  Mr.  Churchman's  Chocolate  Mills  and  works  there, 
which  being  a  Secret  cannot  be  exposed  to  view."  Another 
local  chocolate  manufacturer  had  entered  the  field  before 
Churchman's  demise.  Joseph  Fry,  born  in  1728,  settled  in 
Bristol  as  an  apothecary  about  twenty  years  later,  and  was 
admitted  a  freeman  in  1763,  on  payment  of  a  fine  of  fif- 
teen guineas.  The  Bristol  Journal  of  March  24th,  17B9,  an- 
nounced that  "Joseph  Fry,  Apothecary,  is  removed  from 
Small  Street  to  a  house  opposite  Chequer  Lane  in  Narrow 
Wine  Street,  where  he  makes  and  sells  Chocolate  as  usual." 
Mr.  Fry  forthwith  negotiated  for  Churchman's  premises,  and 
in  November,  1761,  an  advertisement  in  the  same  paper 
announced  that  "  Churchman's  Patent  Chocolate  is  now  made 
by  Joseph  Fry  and  John  Vaughan,  jun.,  the  said  Church- 
man's executor,  the  present  sole  proprietors  of  the  famous 
Water  Engine  at  the  Castle  Mills."  In  1763,  Fry,  stiU 
styled  an  apothecary,  had  a  house  and  shop  in  Wine  Street 
"  next  door  to  the  Crispin  inn  ;  "  but  in  1777,  soon  after  the 
construction  of  Union  Street,  he  announced  his  removal 
there,  "  opposite  the  upper  gate  of  St.  James's  Market, 
where  he  keeps  his  shop  for  the  sale  of  Churchman's  Patent 
and  other  sorts  of  Chocolate,  nibs,  and  Cocoa."  The  fame 
of  Churchman's  preparation  was  so  widely  spread  that  the 
name  was  and  still  is  retained  by  the  Frys  for  some  of  their 
productions.  The  founder  of  their  house  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  great  ingenuity  and  enterprise.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  a  printer  named  Pine  he  established  a  type  foundry 
in  Bristol,  which  was  removed  in  1770  to  London,  where 
"  Fry  and  Son  "  were  type-founders  to  the  Prince  of  Wales 
in  1786.  In  a  handbill  announcing  the  publication  of  the 
Bristol  Mercury^  January.  1790,  it  is  stated  that  the  paper 
would  be  "  printed  in  a  new  and  most  beautiful  type  by  the 

N 


178  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1731. 

ingenious  Fry."     We  shall  subsequently  find  him  connected 
with  Champion  in  the  celebrated  Bristol  China  works.      In 
1771,  in  conjunction  with  Samuel  Fripp,  he  purchased  the 
soap  and  candle  manufactory  of  Farell,  Vaughan,  and  Co. 
in  Christmas  Street.      The  works  were  removed  to  Castle 
Gate,  and  developed  into  the  extensive  manufactory  carried 
on  in  later  days  by  Messrs.  Thomas  Brothers.     And  besides 
these  businesses,  he  had  chemical  works  at  Battersea.      By 
his  brethren  of  the  Society  of  Friends  Joseph  Fry  was  greatly 
respected  for  his  earnest  efforts  to  raise  the  moral  tone  of  the 
denomination,  which  in  his  youth  had  degenerated  from  its 
pristine  purity  and  simplicity.     Extravagance  of  dress  was 
common  amongst  youthful  Quakers,  who  flashed  to  chapel  in 
gay  clothes  and  powdered  wigs.     Drunkenness  and  gambling 
were  not  unknown.      Many  wealthy  Quakers  were  engaged 
in  privateering.      These  annals  will  record  a  challenge  to 
mortal  conflict  proffered  by  a  Bristol  Quaker  to  a  lawyer. 
In  August,  1722,  at  Gloucester,  an  Irish  Quaker  exhibited 
his  skill  with  broadsword  and  dagger,  falchion  and  quarter- 
staff,  in  combats  with  a  Bristol  gladiator.      The  minutes  of 
the  Bristol  Friends  refer  with  grief  to  the  dealings  of  some 
of  the  members  in  smuggled  goods.      And  in  the  Jefferies 
Collection  is  a  singular  document  showing  that  a  family  of 
Quakers  at  Alveston  bought,  and  enjoyed  for  many  years, 
under  the  name  of  an  attorney,  half  the  tithes  of  the  lordship 
of  Tockington.      Against  the  various  backslidings  Fry  ur- 
gently remonstrated,  and  his  efforts,  with  those  of  others, 
eventually  succeeded  in  accomplishing  a  complete  regenera- 
tion in  the  Society. 

In  the  autumn  of  1731   a  movement  was  started  by  the 
Whig   party  in   London   for   the   erection  of   a  statue   of 
William  III.     A  large  sum  was  soon  raised  by  subscription, 
but  when  a  site  for  the  monument  was  requested,  the  Com- 
mon Council,  in  which  the  Tories  had  gained  predominance, 
refused  even  to  receive  the  petition.     The  incident  caused 
much    comment    throughout    the    country,    and     notably 
amongst  the  merchants  of  Bristol,  a  great  majority  of  whom 
were  Whigs,  and  steps  w^ere  forthwith  taken  ^o  prove  the 
loyalty  of  the  city  to  the  Revolution  settlement.     On  the 
8th  December,  say  the  minutes  of  the  Council,  "  a  memo- 
rial, inscribed  by  a  great  number  of  gentlemen,  setting  forth 
that  the  memorialists,  with  many  other  inhabitants,  were 
willing  at  their  own  charge  to  erect  a  public  statue  to  the 
memory  of  our  great  and  glorious  .Deliverer,  William  III., 
was  produced."     The  document,  which  prayed  for  a  suitable 


1731.]  IN  TH»  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY,  179 

site  for  the  monument,  was  cordially  received.  The  Chamber 
fixed  upon  Queen  Square  as  an  appropriate  site,  and  unani- 
mously voted  £600  towards  the  expense,  adding  that  the 
subscription  might  be  increased  if  "  occasion  required." 
The  Merchants'  Society,  equally  enthusiastic,  voted  £300 
(having  previously  negatived  a  proposal,  insidiously  made 
by  the  Tories,  to  erect  a  statue  to  George  11.).  A  few  weeks 
later  a  committee  of  nine  gentlemen — three  appointed  by 
the  Corporation,  three  by  the  Merchants'  Company,  and 
three  by  the  subscribers — proceeded  to  carry  out  the  under- 
taking. Two  designs  were  received  in  July,  1732,  one  by 
the  celebrated  Rysbraek,  the  other  by  a  Mr.  Schymaker, 
the  former  of  which  was  selected.  In  September,  1733,  the 
ground  was  broken  in  the  centre  of  Queen  Square  for  the 
purpose  of  laying  the  foundation  of  the  monument,  when, 
says  a  mocking  paragraph  in  the  Gloucester  Journal j  Alder- 
man John  Becher  "  uttered  this  pious  ejaculation,  '  My  shep- 
herd is  the  living  God,  in  whom  is  my  defence,'  and  out  of 
his  abundant  generosity  gave  the  workmen  two  shillings 
and  sixpence  to  drink  his  worship's  good  health."  (Becher 
had  shortly  before  been  paid  £413  by  the  Corporation  for 
his  exertions  in  defending  the  interests  of  the  local  slave 
traders  against  the  African  Company.)  From  some  unex- 
plained cause,  there  was  a  long  delay  between  the  casting 
of  the  statue  and  its  erection.  In  December,  1734,  the  Hull 
monument,  by  Schymaker,  was  uncovered  with  great  cere- 
mony, when  the  mayor  and  corporation  "  drank  prosperity 
to  the  friends  of  the  Revolution,  particularly  in  the  city  of 
Bristol."  But  it  was  not  until  September,  1736,  that  the 
work  in  Queen  Square  was  reported  to  the  Council  to  be 
"  handsomely  finished."  Rysbraek  received  £1,800  for  one 
of  his  finest  productions.  Schymaker  had  £B0  for  his  model. 
The  subscriptions  being  insufficient,  the  Council  voted  a 
further  gift  of  £600  in  December,  1736. 

Another  of  the  great  cockfighting  "  entertainments  "  of 
the  time  was  announced  in  the  Gloucester  Journal  of  the  9th 
November.  The  match  was  between  "  the  gentlemen  of 
Bristol  and  the  gentlemen  of  Bath,"  who  were  to  produce 
forty-one  birds  each,  "for  four  guineas  a  battle  and  sixty 
guineas  the  odd  battle." 

A  Latin  inscription  in  the  old  church  of  St.  Nicholas 
recorded  that  in  the  year  1731,  when  the  building  threatened 
to  fall  to  ruins,  four  new  columns  were  erected  by  the  church- 
wardens, serving  both  for  strength  and  ornament.  It  appears 
from  the  vestry  records  that  one  of  the  piers  was  three  times 


180  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1731~32. 

rebuilt,  and  that  John  Podmore — styled  "the  ingenious''  for 
his  erection  of  a  great  crane  on  the  quay — vainly  contrived 
a  cast  iron  machine  to  screw  up  the  neighbouring  pillars  to 
their  capitals.  John  Wood,  of  Bath,  was  at  length  engaged, 
and  the  danger  of  a  complete  collapse  was  averted.  The 
total  outlay  was  very  great,  and  crippled  the  vestry  for 
several  years. 

Whilst  the  above  reconstruction  was  proceeding,  the  dean 
and  chapter  evinced  their  culture  and  sense  of  beauty  by 
ordering  the  destruction  of  the  original  Romanesque  win- 
dows in  the  Chapter  House  of  the  Cathedral,  including  the 
graceful  ornamentation  surrounding  them.  Four  ugly  sash 
windows  were  inserted  in  their  place. 

After  having  taken  breath  for  ten  years,  the  Corporation, 
on  the  5th  January,  1732,  resolved  to  resume  operations  for 
the  building  of  an  Exchange,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  negotiate  for  a  site.  This  body  reported  in  July  that  it 
had  contracted  for  the  acquirement  of  the  Guilders  tavern 
(rental  £46),  the  Guilders  inn  (rental  £80),  and  other  premises 
for  the  sum  of  £2,600,  and  also  for  the  possession  of  the 
Three  Tuns  tavern  (rental  £89),  and  other  buildings  for 
£2,000.  The  contracts  were  confirmed  by  the  Council. 
The  owner  of  the  Guilders  estate  resided  in  London,  and 
some  difficulty  was  encountered  in  remitting  the  purchase 
money.  Eventually  ten  bills  of  exchange  and  two  pro- 
missory notes  were  bought  up  from  various  mercantile  firms, 
and  the  balance  was  forwarded  in  Bank  of  England  notes. 
As  all  the  money  had  to  be  borrowed,  the  Chamber  again 
shelved  the  matter  for  some  years. 

A  shocking  illustration  of  the  barbarous  military  punish- 
ments of  the  age  is  recorded  in  a  Bristol  paragraph,  dated 
March  18th,  1732,  in  Read's  Weekly  Journal.  The  writer 
states  that  a  soldier,  convicted  of  drinking  the  Pretender's 
health,  had  just  received  a  thousand  lashes  with  a  cat  of 
nine  tails  in  Queen  Square,  and  was  afterwards  drummed 
out  of  the  regiment.  {Misfs  Journal  of  June  22nd,  1728, 
contains  a  report  that  an  Irish  Bomau  Catholic  soldier  had 
been  whipped  at  Bristol  two  days  in  succession  with  a  cat  of 
nine  tails  for  persevering  in  his  religion  and  refusing  to  go 
to  church,  the  punishment  being  so  severe  that  he  begged 
to  be  shot  or  hanged.)  In  another  case,  about  the  same 
date,  a  sergeant  in  the  Fusiliers,  for  desertion  and  fraud, 
was  sentenced  to  receive  2,000  lashes ;  but  at  the  interces- 
sion of  several  ladies  the  frightful  punishment  was  remitted. 
The  prisoner,  stripped  to  the  waist  and  with  a  halter  round 


1732.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  181 

his  neck,  was  drummed   through  the   streets,  and   finally 
driven  out  of  the  city. 

The  church  and  tower  of  St.  Stephen  being  reported  in  a 
state  of  great  decay,  and  the  cost  of  restoration  being  esti- 
mated at  £1,000,  the  Common  Council,  in  May,  1732,  voted 
£100  towards  the  renovation. 

The  Chamber,  at  the  above  meeting,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  charges  imposed  by  the  trade  com- 
panies of  the  city  upon  the  admission  of  new  members,  it 
being  alleged  that  these  demands  were  in  many  cases 
"exorbitant."  The  committee  never  reported,  and  as  it 
does  not  appear  that  the  Corporation  took  any  further  action 
in  the  matter,  the  companies  seem  to  have  been  allowed  to 
persist  in  a  system  which  gradufidly  brought  about  self 
destruction.  In  1719  there  were  twenty-three  of  these 
fraternities,  which  embraced  nearly  every  mechanical  trade 
in  the  city,  seniority  being  claimed  by  the  merchant  tailors. 
To  all  of  them  the  Corporation  had  delegated  powers  for 
regulating  their  respective  trades.  Thus,  so  late  as  1730, 
the  Common  Council  approved  of  new  ordinances  for  the 
Carpenters'  Company,  by  which  no  person  save  a  member  of 
that  society  was  allowed  to  exercise  the  trade  of  a  carpenter 
in  the  city,  either  as  a  master  or  a  journeyman,  under  a 
penalty  of  lOs.  a  day,  while  no  employer  was  to  take  an 
apprentice  without  the  leave  of  the  company.  As  popula- 
tion and  business  developed,  however,  it  was  found  impos- 
sible to  coerce  young  tradesmen  into  entering  societies 
which  demanded  large  fees  on  admission  and  offered  nothing 
in  return.  Moreover,  as  local  goldsmiths,  drapers,  grocers, 
and  stationers  were  never  incorporated,  the  Bristol  com- 
panies had  neither  the  wealth  nor  the  prestige  of  the  similar 
associations  in  London.  As  a  natural  consequence,  the 
societies  gradually  faded  out  of  existence  as  the  old  members 
dropped  oflf.  Of  only  one  or  two  have  we  any  record.  The 
annual  meetings  of  the  richest  of  the  companies,  the  Tailors, 
were  generally  attended  by  some  60  to  70  members  about 
the  beginning  of  the  century.  But  in  17B7  the  attendance 
sank  to  27;  in  1767  to  24;  in  1777  to  20;  in  1787  to  7; 
and  in  1797  to  6 ;  the  members  being  soon  after  re- 
duced to  2,  who  alternately  elected  each  other  master  until 
181B,  when  a  Mr.  Amos  elected  himself,  and  continued  to 
do  so  until  his  death  (Minutes  of  the  Company,  Jefferies 
Collection).  The  Mercers  numbered  about  forty  in  the  first 
decade  of  the  century,  but  the  last  mention  of  their  hall 
occurs  in  1718. 


182  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1732. 

At  the  Gloucestershire  quarter  sessions  iu  April,  1732,  the 
justices  made  an  order  respecting  the  wages  of  labour 
throughout  the  county,  which  aflfords  an  insight  into  work- 
ing-class life  in  Clifton,  Westbury,  and  the  out-parishes  of 
St.  James  and  St.  Philip.  The  magistrates  seem  to  have 
considered  every  labourer  entitled  to  consume  a  quart  of 
beer  daily.  The  daily  wages  of  every  carpenter,  wheel- 
wright and  mason,  as  well  as  a  mower  in  hay  harvest,  were 
to  be  U.  2d.  "without  drink,''  or  Is.  "with  drink."  [The 
same  rates  for  artisans  had  been  fixed  by  the  justices  of 
Somerset  some  years  earlier.]  An  ordinary  labourer,  with- 
out diet  or  drink,  was  to  be  paid  lOd.,  with  drink  8d.,  and 
with  diet  id,  A  head  maid-servant  or  cook  was  to  have 
£2  ICte.  a  year;  a  second  maid-servant  £2.  On  farms,  a 
driving  boy  under  14  years  was  allowed  £1  vearly,  a  head 
labourer  £B,  and  a  second  labourer  £4,  with  food.  The 
magisterial  scale  was  accompanied  by  a  notice  that  any 
master  presuming  to  give  higher  wages  than  those  fixed 
would  on  conviction  be  imprisoned  for  ten  days  and  fined 
£B,  while  servants  accepting  higher  earnings  would  be 
imprisoned  for  three  weeks.  Any  servant  who,  after  con- 
cluding his  term  of  service,  should  remove  from  one  parish 
to  another,  without  a  certificate  from  the  constable  and  two 
householders,  was  declared  incapable  of  being  hired,  was  to 
be  imprisoned  until  the  certificate  was  forthcoming,  and 
was  "  to  be  whipped  and  used  as  a  vagabond  "  if  he  failed  to 
obtain  it.  Any  person  hiring  such  a  servant  was  to  be  fined 
£B.  Artificers  and  labourers  were  to  work,  from  the  middle 
of  March  to  the  middle  of  September,  from  five  in  the  morn- 
ing until  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock  at  night,  two 
hours  and  a  half  being  allowed  for  breakfast,  dinner,  and 
"  drinking."  In  the  winter  half  year,  they  were  to  labour 
from  dawn  to  night. 

A  minute  of  a  meeting  of  St.  Stephen's  vestry,  dated  July 
18th,  deals  in  a  characteristic  manner  with  one  of  the  most 
shocking  customs  then  prevalent  throughout  England — the 
practise  of  burying  deceased  parishioners  in  the  interior  of 
churches.  The  vestry  had  discovered  that  their  fabric  had 
been  much  injured  by  the  frequent  interments  within  it, 
*'  which  is  wholly  owing,"  says  the  minute,  "  to  the  low 
price  fixed  for  burying  there."  It  was  resolved  that  the  fee 
lor  breaking  the  ground  should  be  increased  to  three 
guineas,  a  charge  which  may  have  brought  in  some  ad- 
ditional revenue,  but  which  could  have  had  little  effect 
in  improving  the   sanitary    condition   of  the  church.      In 


1732-33.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  183 

despite  of  this  order,  moreover,  the  vestry,  in  1740,  permitted 
an  ordinary  grave  to  be  dug  within  the  building  on  pay- 
ment of  a  fee  of  13.9.  4d.  It  was  not  until  1763  that  burial 
in  the  church  was  forbidden  unless  the  grave  was  lined  with 
bricks. 

The  wholesale  price  of  wine  at  this  period  was  exceedingly 
moderate.  In  the  local  Prerogative  Court  is  an  inventorv 
of  the  estate  of  John  Duval,  a  Bristol  merchant,  dated  1729^ 
whose  stock  comprised  upwards  of  ninety  pipes  of  **  new 
Port,''  appraised  as  of  the  value  of  £26  10.*?.  each ;  and  one 
pipe  of  **  old  Port,"  valued  at  £30,  equal  to  4.v.  9d.  per  gallon. 
In  the  JeflFeries  Collection,  amongst  some  accounts  of  James 
Cadell,  a  prosperous  Bristol  merchant,  is  the  following : — 
"Aug.  2,  1732,  Eeceived  of  J.  Cadell,  Esq.,  £11  for  half  a 
pipe  of  wine,  spared  him.  B.  Webb."  The  wine  remained 
in  the  wood  nearly  six  years,  when  Mr.  Webb  received 
£3  16«.  for  "  bottles,  corkes  and  botteling."  The  total  cost 
of  the  well-matured  liquor  was  therefore  equal  to  about 
9«.  Gd,  a  dozen. 

The  Corporation,  in  August,  1732,  paid  £6  to  one  John 
Mason,  for  "  turning  six  large  posts  for  the  brass  heads  to  be 
put  on  at  the  Tolzey,  near  All  Saints  Church."  These 
articles  were  similar  to  the  brazen  pillars  now  standing  in 
front  of  the  Exchange. 

One  of  the  kindly  habits  of  the  time  was  the  annual 
gathering  of  prosperous  Bristolians,  bom  in  one  or  other  of 
the  neighbouring  shires,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  other 
natives  of  the  respective  counties  who  had  been  less  fortunate 
in  the  battle  of  life.  A  Bristol  paragraph  in  a  London 
newspaper  of  September  2nd  records  that  the  yearly  feast  cf 
the  Wiltshire  Society  had  just  taken  place.  The  members 
walked  in  procession  to  Christ  Church  to  hear  a  sermon. 
'*  There  was  a  fine  appearance,  and  a  shepherd,  with  his 
habit,  crook,  bottle  and  dog  attended  them."  The  proceed- 
ings of  course  concluded  with  a  dinner,  which  took  place  in 
the  Merchants'  Hall.  The  subscriptions  were  generally  ap- 
propriated to  the  apprenticing  of  boys.  Herefordshire, 
Gloucestershire  and  Somerset  men  held  similar  festivities  at 
the  same  period,  whilst  the  families  of  poor  Welshmen  were 
relieved  by  the  Society  of  Ancient  Britons. 

On  the  10th  January,  1733,  the  Common  Council  drew  up 
a  representation  to  the  members  of  Parliament  for  the  city, 
desiring  them  to  strenuously  oppose  any  project  of  an  Excise 
'*  on  customable  merchandise  or  home  manufactured  goods." 
The  instruction,  like  a  similar  memorial  of  the  Merchant 


181.  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1733. 

Venturers,  was  drawn  up  in  consequence  of  a  rumour  that 
the  Government  was  maturing  such  a  proposal ;  and  in  fact 
Sir  Robert  Walpole,  two  months  later,  introduced  a  scheme 
for  placing  the  tobacco  trade  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Excise  authorities.  The  chief  reason  offered  for  the  change 
was  that  enormous  frauds  were  perpetrated  under  the  exist- 
ing system,  with  the  effect  of  reducing  the  produce  of  the 
tobacco  duty  from  a  gross  receipt  of  £760,000  to  a  net  sum 
of  £160,000.  The  arguments  of  the  Minister,  though  un- 
answerable, had  no  effect  in  calming  the  popular  clamour, 
and,  after  a  vehement  struggle  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  measure  was  dropped  on  the  11th  April.  As  Bristol 
enjoyed  a  large  share  of  the  tobacco  trade,  the  joy  of  those 
concerned  in  it  was  naturally  exuberant.  (The  Corporation 
and  the  Merchants'  Company  each  spent  £81  bs,  6rf.  in 
furthering  the  agitation  against  the  Bill.)  An  express  an- 
nouncing the  failure  of  the  scheme  was  forwarded  from 
London  by  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  M.P.,  and  reached  the  city 
at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  following  day. 
Whereupon,  says  the  only  local  newspaper,  the  merchants 
and  traders  (at  the  mayor's  invitation)  assembled  at  the 
Council  House  to  drink  the  health  of  Walpole's  opponents. 
Thirty-six  gallons  of  port  and  sherry  and  42  bottles  of  claret 
were  consumed  by  the  revellers,  while  108  gallons  of  strong 
beer  were  distributed  to  the  populace  at  the  High  Cross,  all 
at  the  expense  of  the  Corporation.  The  London  Daily 
Courant  stated  a  few  days  later,  on  the  authority  of  a  Bristol 
letter,  that  the  mayor  sent  orders  "  to  have  the  bells  tuned  ; 
all  the  schoolmasters  in  town  were  ordered  to  keep  holiday  \ 
the  boys  were  employed  in  making  squibs ;  and  the  mayor 
erected  a  battery  of  seven  great  guns  behind  his  house,  to 
the  great  annoyance  of  the  small  beer  in  the  Square. 
Fagots  and  tar  barrels  were  erected  into  monstrous  bonfire 
piles  [one  of  them  blazed  before  the  Excise  Office  in  Broad 
Street]  and  some  ships  showed  their  dirty  colours :  few  of 
the  fires  were  without  some  instruments  of  execution  "  (by 
which,  as  we  learn  from  Stewart's  MS.,  it  was  meant  that  the 
unpopular  Minister  was  hanged  and  burnt  in  effigy).  This 
account,  which  concluded  with  some  caustic  remarks  on  the 
mayor's  sympathy  with  the  mob,  caused  great  irritation  in 
corporate  circles,  and  after  being  stigmatised  by  the  grand 
jury  at  the  next  sessions  as  a  scandalous  libel,  the  news- 
paper was  ordered  to  be  publicly  burnt.  In  the  following 
June,  when  Sir  Abraham  Elton  returned  to  Bristol,  his 
warm   opposition   to   the   Excise  Bill  was  rewarded  by  a 


1733.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  185 

popular  demonstration.  He  was  met,  on  his  approach,  and 
ushered  into  the  city  by  600  horsemen,  many  of  whom  wore 
knots  of  gilded  tobacco  in  their  hats,  and  the  procession  was 
wound  up  with  coaches  and  sedan  chairs ;  Temple  Street 
was  dressed  with  boughs,  and  the  towers  of  the  churches 
were  adorned  with  scarlet  cloth  (Stewart's  MS.).  (After 
Walpole's  fall,  the  unpopular  features  of  his  Excise  scheme 
were  enacted  by  his  opponents.) 

Trinity  Street,  which  for  many  years  commonly  bore  the 
odd  name  of  the  Masonry,  was  in  course  of  erection  at  this 
time.  The  minutes  of  the  dean  and  chapter,  dated  the  17th 
January,  1733,  record  the  renewal  to  Mr.  Jarrit  Smith  of  his 
lease  of  '*  the  Masonry  and  Covent  Garden,"  on  payment  of 
a  fine  of  £73  Us,  The  lease  was  again  renewed  in  1746, 
when  the  chapter  accepted  a  fine  of  £750.  A  larger  extent 
of  ground  may  have  been  included  in  this  document,  for  in 
September,  1743,  an  exchange  of  lands  took  place  between 
the  bishop  and  the  capitular  body,  the  former  surrendering 
the  Bishop's  Orchard,  for  which  he  accepted  certain  "  gar- 
dens in  Dean's  Marsh."  In  1761,  when  Jarrit  Smith's  lease 
again  crops  up  in  the  chapter  minutes,  the  place  is  styled 
'*  the  late  Masonry,  now  Trinity  Street."  The  fine  for  re- 
newal, including  **  the  Bishop's  Orchard,  lately  improved  by 
buildings,"  was  £1,076,  as  it  was  again  in  1774. 

A  discreditable  exposure  was  made  at  the  meeting  of  the 
poor-law  guardians  on  the  8th  February,  1733.  It  was  dis- 
covered that  Richard  Baggs,  of  Temple  Street,  a  member  of 
the  board  (who  in  the  previous  year  had  been  convicted  of 
an  abominable  offence,  for  which  he  was  sentenced  to  stand 
in  the  pillory  for  an  hour,  to  pay  a  fine  of  £200,  and  to  be 
imprisoned  for  six  months),  had  obtained  sums  of  charity 
money  from  several  of  the  churchwardens,  undertaking  to 
distribute  the  amount  amongst  "  sundry  poor  people,"  but 
that  he  had  defrauded  the  intended  recipients,  and  put  the 
money  into  his  own  pocket.  His  prosecution  was  ordered, 
but  at  the  next  meeting,  in  consequence,  no  doubt,  of  the 
supplications  of  the  knave,  still  in  prison,  it  was  ordered 
"that  Mr.  Matthew  Purnell  do  wait  on  Mr.  Richard  Baggs 
and  receive  of  him  the  sum  of  ife200,  for  which  he  hath 
given  bond  this  day,  for  his  having  defrauded  the  poor,  and 
that  the  same  be  paid  to  Mr.  Nehemiah  Champion,  treasurer 
to  this  corporation,  and  that  he  [meaning  Baggs]  shall  have 
a  general  release  from  this  corporation,  and  that  he  shall 
make  a  resignation  of  his  guardianship."  The  guardians 
thought  the  scandal  deserving  of  a  permanent  record,  and  a 


186  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1733. 

board  was  set  up  in  the  court-room  narrating  the  offence 
and  the  punishment  as  a  memorial  and  a  warning.  The  in- 
scription still  remains. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  21st  July,  1733,  a 
"representation"  of  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  High 
Street  and  the  neighbourhood  was  read,  suggesting  the  re- 
moval of  the  High  Cross.  A  portion  of  this  document  is 
worthy  of  record  : — "  It  hath  been  insinuated  by  some  that 
this  Cross,  on  account  of  its  antiquity  ought  to  be  lookt 
upon  as  something  sacred.  But  when  we  consider  that  we 
are  Protestants,  and  that  Popery  ought  eflFectually  to  be 
guarded  against  in  this  nation,  we  make  this  our  request  to 
you  to  consider.  If  the  opening  of  a  passage  to  four  of  the 
principal  streets  in  this  city  ought  not  to  outweigh  anything 
that  can  be  said  for  the  keeping  up  a  ruinous  and  supersti- 
tious ReUck,  which  is  at  present  a  public  nuisance."  After 
a  discussion,  the  question  as  to  the  removal  of  the  Cross  was 
put  to  the  Chamber.  "  It  was  voted  in  the  affirmative  by 
a  great  majority,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  is  ordered  to  cause 
the  same  to  be  forthwith  pulled  down,  and  to  dispose  of  the 
images  and  materials  as  shall  be  thought  fit."  According 
to  tradition,  the  chief  agitator  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Cross  was  John  Vaughan,  a  wealthy  goldsmith  and  banker, 
whose  shop  and  dwelling  were  in  the  curious  wooden  house 
still  standing  at  the  comer  of  Wine  and  High  Streets,  and 
who,  it  is  said,  offered  to  swear  that  his  life  and  property 
were  endangered  in  every  high  wind  by  the  shaking  of  the 
weather-worn  "  relick  "  before  his  door.  But  Mr.  Vaughan's 
name  was  not  appended  to  the  memorial.  The  Cross  was 
removed  in  the  foUowing  month,  the  stones  being  deposited 
in  the  Guildhall.  Its  dishonoured  condition,  however,  gave 
pain  to  many  citizens,  and  Alderman  Price,  with  a  few  other 
gentlemen,  provided  funds  for  its  re-erection  in  College 
Green.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  loose  business  habits  of 
public  bodies  in  that  age  that  there  is  no  record,  either  of 
the  CounciPs  permission  to  remove  the  materials,  or  of  the 
dean  and  chapter's  grant  of  the  new  sit«.  The  Cross  was, 
however,  reconstructed  in  the  spring  of  1736,  and  somewhat 
garishly  ornamented  with  gold  and  colours. 

A  resolution  passed  by  the  Common  Council  in  August, 
1733,  proves  that  the  old  dislike  of  "  foreigners  "  was  still 
an  active  force.  On  the  motion  of  Alderman  Becher,  it  was 
determined  "  that  no  person  residing  without  the  liberties  of 
the  city  shall  henceforth,  upon  any  consideration  whatever, 
be  admitted  into  the  freedom  of  this  city."     Honorary  free- 


1783-34.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  187 

doms  were  of  course  excepted  from  the  regulation,  which 
was  carried  by  16  votes  to  13.  The  order,  which  soon  be- 
came obsolete,  may  possibly  have  been  intended  to  discour- 
age the  residence  of  merchants  in  Clifton  and  other  subur- 
ban districts. 

The  Council,  on  the  12th  December,  voted  a  pension  of 
£10  yearly  to  Elizabeth  Joy,  grand-daughter  of  Edward 
Morgan  (mayor,  1667),  and  niece  to  Sir  Eobert  Yeamans, 
Bart,  (mayor,  1669),  she  being  "reduced  to  very  great 
straights  for  the  necessaries  of  life." 

The  accounts  of  the  parochial  vestries  about  this  time 
contain  references  to  an  instrument  called  an  umbrella, 
which,  as  the  St.  Nicholas'  books  explain,  was  used  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  clergymen  in  wet  weather  whilst  read- 
ing the  burial  service  in  churchyards.  The  earliest  dis- 
covered mention  of  the  article  occurs  in  the  St.  Philip's 
accounts  for  1723,  when  bs.  was  paid  for  "  mending  the 
umbrella."  In  1733  the  same  parish  paid  for  "  6  yards  oil'd 
cloth  for  ye  umbrella,  12s.  6d.,"  from  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  apparatus  was  something  in  the  nature  of  a  port- 
able canopy.  Christ  Church  vestry,  in  1740,  ordered  the 
purchase  of  "  another  umbrelloe  for  the  use  of  this  church," 
in  1744  St.  Nicholas'  vestry  laid  out  £2  16s.  for  the  same 
purpose ;  an  umbrella  "  for  the  use  of  the  rector "  was 
ordered  for  St.  Stephen's  in  1761,  and  in  1765  a  new  um- 
brella cost  the  St.  Philip's  authorities  £3  3s.  As  evidence 
that  these  instruments  were  not  adapted  for  locomotion,  the 
corporate  accounts  for  1760  show  a  payment  of  £6  lis.  "  for 
saile  cloth  used  in  the  umbrelloes  for  the  market,"  and  four 
similar  items,  amounting  to  over  £30,  occur  between  1757 
and  1762.  The  portable  umbrella  of  the  present  day  was, 
in  fact,  then  unknown  in  England. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  who  was  about  to  marry  the 
Princess  Royal  of  England,  being  on  a  visit  to  Bath,  the 
Corporation  resolved,  in  January,  1734,  "  in  regard  of  his 
illustrious  descent  and  firm  attachment  to  the  Protestant 
religion,"  to  invite  him  to  Bristol.  His  Highness,  in  re- 
sponse to  the  request,  came  to  the  city  on  the  21st  February, 
and  was  entertained  to  dinner  at  the  Merchants'  Hall,  con- 
ducted to  the  Hot  Well  and  the  Quays,  and  treated  to  a 
sumptuous  supper  and  ball.  Having  slept  at  the  house  of 
Alderman  Day,  the  Prince  next  morning  received  the  city 
clergy,  and  shortly  afterwards  departed.  The  cost  of  the 
entertainment  was  £297  1^.  3^^.,  exclusive  of  £52  10.s.  spent 
upon  the  visitor's  servants.    From  one  item  in  the  accounts. 


188  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1734. 

26s.  "  paid  for  the  use  of  Cheny,"  it  would  appear  that 
pewter  platters  were  for  the  first  time  deemed  unworthy  of 
the  guest's  table. 

The  piratical  vessels  sent  out  by  the  barbarous  States  of 
Morocco  and  Algiers  were  at  this  period  the  terror  of  the 
seas.  The  London  Journal  of  February  16th,  1734,  pub- 
lished a  letter  from  Philip  Graves,  master  of  the  Bristol 
ship  Ferdinand  (of  only  eighty  tons  and  seven  men)  to 
Thomas  Pennington,  a  local  merchant,  announcing  that  his 
vessel  with  three  other  English  ships  bound  for  the  Penin- 
sula, had  been  captured  by  the  Admiral  of  Sallee,  and  him- 
self and  the  other  men  thrown  into  prison.  Captain  Graves 
craves  Christian  assistance  for  the  redemption  of  the  party, 
and  unconsciously  reveals  the  strange  conditions  then  per- 
mitted to  exist.  Relief  in  money,  he  says,  could  be  sent  to 
a  certain  mercantile  house  at  Gibraltar,  one  of  the  partners 
of  which,  "  a  worthy  countryman  of  ours,"  carried  on  busi- 
ness at  Sallee,  and  would  faithfully  apply  the  sums  for- 
warded. The  affair  appears  to  have  stirred  up  the  English 
Government,  not  to  suppress  the  pirates,  but  to  buy  off 
their  victims.  In  the  following  November  the  same  journal 
announced  that  136  persons,  redeemed  from  slavery  in  Mo- 
rocco, had  been  brought  to  George  II.,  who  presented  them 
with  £100  for  their  relief. 

A  plot  of  ground  at  the  west  end  of  Milk  Street  was  sold 
by  the  Corporation  in  March,  1734,  for  the  erection  of  an 
almshouse  for  the  maintenance  of  five  old  bachelors  and  five 
old  maids,  in  conformity  with  the  will  of  "  Mrs."  Sarah 
Ridley,  an  aged  spinster,  who  died  in  1726.  The  site  cost 
£160.     The  building  was  finished  in  1739. 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  occurred  in  the  spring  of 
1734,  and  the  election  of  new  members  for  Bristol  com- 
menced on  the  14th  May.  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  who  was 
generally  popular,  solicited  re-election,  as  did  his  colleague, 
Mr.  Scrope.  The  energetic  support  which  the  latter  had 
rendered  to  Walpole,  in  the  Excise  struggle,  had  raised  him 
many  enemies,  and  the  Tory  party  brought  forward,  in 
opposition  to  him,  Mr.  Thomas  Coster,  who  was  largely 
interested  in  the  local  copper  trade  and  a  hearty  opponent 
of  the  Excise  scheme.  At  the  close  of  the  poll  on  the  24th 
May,  the  figures  stood :  for  Sir  A.  Elton,  2420 ;  for  Mr. 
Coster,  2071 ;  for  Mr.  Scrope,  1866.  The  issue  excited  great 
irritation  amongst  the  Whigs.  Upon  the  opening  of  Parlia- 
ment, a  petition  was  presented  from  the  mayor  and  Corpo- 
ration asserting  that  the  return  of  Mr.  Coster  was  due  to 


1734.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  189 

invalid  votes,  and  paying  for  relief.  The  Commons  resolved 
on  taking  evidence  at  the  bar,  and  a  large  part  of  one  sit- 
ting was  occupied  in  hearing  counsel  and  witnesses.  Before 
the  case  came  on  again  the  petition  was  withdrawn.  In 
the  British  Museum  is  a  printed  poll  book  of  the  election, 
with  manuscript  notes  describing  the  disqualifications  of 
many  of  the  voters,  according  to  which  about  one-sixth  of 
the  votes  polled  were  bad.  The  writer  appends  to  the 
names  of  some  of  the  dubious  electors  such  observations  as 
"  stood  in  the  pillory,"  *'  burnt  in  the  hand  for  felony,"  and 
"  a  common  beggar,"  but  in  most  of  the  cases  the  voters  are 
described  as  paupers,  receiving  relief.  (To  the  name,  in 
RedcliflF  parish,  of  John  Chatterton,  weaver,  grandfather  of 
the  poet,  is  added,  "  Sexton;  received  a  loaf  every  14  days.") 
The  result  given  by  the  writer  is  that  362  bad  votes  were 
recorded  for  Coster,  and  91  for  Scrope,  leaving  the  latter  a 
majority  of  66  good  votes  on  the  entire  poll.  But  the  hasty 
withdrawal  of  the  petition  shows  that  this  assertion  could 
not  be  sustained.  The  Corporation  paid  the  whole  of  the 
expenses  incurred  in  prosecuting  the  case,  amounting  to 
£o63.  On  comparing  the  poll  book  with  a  list  of  members 
of  the  Merchants'  Society,  printed  in  1732,  it  appears  that 
66  members  voted  for  Scrope  and  18  for  his  opponent.  Out 
of  about  3,800  Bristolians  who  took  part  in  the  election  only 
four  had  two  Christian  names.  Only  26  voters,  apparently 
artisans,  lived  in  Clifton.  At  the  gaol  delivery  in  the 
autumn  the  friends  of  the  recorder  manifested  their  regret 
at  his  defeat  by  offering  him  a  magnificent  reception.  The 
local  newspaper  says,  "  The  gentlemen  on  horseback,  coaches, 
&c.,  were  very  numerous,  and  the  weavers  and  combers, 
dressed  in  their  customary  habits,  made  the  cavalcade  ex- 
tend a  great  length."  What  seems  still  more  strange,  the 
grand  jury  presented  the  recorder  with  an  address  regret- 
ting the  late  "  incident,"  and  hoping  that  the  "  reproach 
lying  upon  the  city  "  would  be  removed  by  the  parliament- 
ary inquiry. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  August,  1734,  a  petition 
was  produced  from  the  Innholders'  Company,  representing 
their  "  inability  to  preserve  their  ancient  rights  and  customs 
from  want  of  good  laws,  orders  and  customs."  A  committee 
was  appointed  with  power  to  draw  up  ordinances,  but  it 
never  reported,  and  the  Company  gradually  died  away. 

"  In  1734,"  writes  David  Hume,  in  his  autobiography,  "  I 
went  to  Bristol  with  some  recommendations  to  eminent 
merchants,  but  in  a  few  months  found  that  scene   totally 


100  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1734. 

unsuitable  to  me."  The  future  historian  was  then  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  His  employer  was  Mr.  Michael  Miller,  a 
merchant,  residing  at  16,  Queen  Square,  who  had  made  a 
fortune  by  his  enterprise,  but  whose  education,  in  the 
opinion  of  his  new  clerk,  left  much  to  be  desired.  It  is  said, 
and  the  story  is  practically  confirmed  in  a  letter  of  Dean 
Tucker  to  Lord  Hailes,  that  Mr.  Miller,  exasperated  at  the 
criticisms  passed  on  the  style  of  his  business  letters,  told 
Hume  that  he  had  made  £20,000  with  his  English,  and 
would  not  have  it  improved.  The  offended  Scot,  who  hated 
all  Englishmen,  many  years  later  took  an  odd  opportunity 
of  displaying  his  scornful  opinion  of  Bristolians.  Describing 
in  his  history  the  progress  of  Naylor,  the  Quaker  fanatic, 
Hume  says : — "He  entered  Bristol  riding  on  a  horse ;  I  sup- 
pose from  the  difficulty  in  that  place  of  finding  an  ass." 
There  is  a  tradition,  nevertheless,  that  he  kept  up  friendly 
relations  with  Mr.  John  Peach,  of  Maryleport  Street,  to 
whom  he  sent  the  manuscript  of  the  first  volumes  of  his 
history,  desiring  him  to  remove  any  dialectical  barbarisms. 
The  story,  if  true,  does  not  redound  to  Mr.  Peach's  credit, 
for  the  first  edition  abounded  with  Scotticisms. 

The  first  Clifton  boarding  school  appears  to  have  been 
establisiied  in  this  year.  The  Gloucester  Journal  for  April 
30th,  1734,  contains  the  following  advertisement : — **  This 
is  to  give  notice  that  on  the  26th  March  was  opened  (to  be 
continued),  at  a  pleasant  part  of  Clifton,  a  boarding  school 
for  the  education  of  young  ladies  :  where  in  the  best  manner 
they  will  be  taught  Dancing,  by  Mr.  Lewis,  dancing  master, 
and  by  his  wife  Needlework  and  genteel  Behaviour ;  and  by 
the  best  masters  will  also  be  taught  (at  the  parents'  plea- 
sure) the  French  language,  Musick,  Writing,  and  Arithmetic, 
or  any  of  them.  The  known  healthful  situation  of  Clifton 
has  occasioned  this  boarding  school  to  be  fixed  there,  but 
Mr.  Lewis  will  continue  to  teach  dancing  at  the  Coopers' 
Hall  in  Bristol." 

A  Bristol  paragraph  in  the  Glouceftfer  Journal  of  Novem- 
ber 26lh  announces  that  "  Mr.  Onesiphorus  Tyndall,  jun., 
an  eminent  drysalter  of  this  city,  is  appointed  by  his  Majesty 
Verderer  and  Chief  Ranger  of  the  forest  of  Kingswood,  with 
a  grant  or  feoffment  for  letting  the  coal  mines,  &c.,  as  soon 
as  the  lease  is  expired  held  by  Thomas  Chester,  Esq., 
Thomas  Player,  Esq.,  and  several  other  gentlemen  ever 
since  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  The  said  coal  mines 
chiefly  supply  this  great  city  and  the  neighbouring  country 
with  their  production,  and  bring  in  a  great  revenue."     On  a 


1734-35.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  191 

reference  to  the  State  Papers  it  appears  that  the  lease   was 
granted  for  thirty-one  years,  on  condition  of  the  payment  of 
40^.  yearly,  and  on  the  lessee  trying  the  title  of  the  Crown 
to  the  estate,  any  composition  with  persons  pretending  to 
possess  portions  of  the  premises  being  forbidde)i.     Tyndall 
was  also  demised,  for  the  same  term,  all  the  coal  pits  and 
mineral  mines  within  the  forest,  on  rendering  one-tenth  of 
the  yearly  profits.     This  appears  to  have  been  the  last  of 
the  many  fruitless  attempts  made  by  the  Crown  to  recover 
those  rights  over  the  ancient  forest  which  had  been  gradu- 
ally undermined  by  the  acquisitive  artifices  of  the  neigh- 
bouring   landowners,    and    were    totally   lost   during   the 
troubles  of  the  Civil  War,  when  the  royal  deer  were  eaten 
up  and  the  woods  utterly  destroyed.     The  forest  originally 
comprised,  under  the  name  of  Fillwood,  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Brislington  and  Bedminster,  but  through  the  negligence 
of  the  Crown  officials  the  royal  rights  over  that  district  had 
been  usurped  and  lost  before  the  death  of  Elizabeth.     Ver- 
derers  were  appointed  for  Kingswood  after  the  Restoration, 
but  some  made  no  effi^rt  to  perform  their  duty,  and  others 
reaped   nothing   from   their  action   but   interminable    and 
ruinous  law  suits.     Mr.  Tyndall's  appointment  seems  to  have 
been  wholly  resultless  either  to  himself  or  the  Government. 
The  low  price  of  animal  food  during  the  year  1734  seems 
almost  incredible  to  modem  readers.     Cary,  in  his  Essay  on 
Trade,  stated  that  the  average  cost  of  beef  in  Bristol  in  his 
time  was  2^d.  per  lb.     But  the  Weekly  Journal  of  November 
16th,  1784,  recorded  that  at  the  cattle  market  of  that  week, 
"  the  best  beef  sold  at  lOd.  per  stone  [of  81b.]  alive,  and  the 
best  mutton  at  9d." 

In  the  closing  years  of  the  previous  century,  the  corpora- 
tion of  Newcastle,  then  the  wealthiest  of  provincial  munici- 
palities, erected  an  imposing  Mansion  House  for  civic  recep- 
tions and  entertainments.  A  similar  building  was  erected 
at  York  in  1728,  and  about  seven  years  later  the  Common 
Council  of  London  resolved  to  follow  the  example.  An 
impulse  being  thus  given  to  the  local  weakness  for  display, 
Mr.  William  Jefferis,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Chamber  in  June, 
1736,  "  represented  that  it  would  tend  to  the  Honour  and 
Grandness  of  this  city  if  some  convenient  Mansion  House 
was  purchased  by  this  Corporation  for  the  mayor  of  the  city 
for  the  time  being  to  reside  in  during  their  respective 
mayoralties ;  and  signified  that  the  late  dwelling  house  of 
Peter  Day,  Esq.,  one  of  the  aldermen  of  this  city  [who  died 
about  six  months  previously],  together   with  its  furniture 


192  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1735. 

was  to  be  disposed  of,  and  was  very  fit  for  the  purpose  in  his 
judgment  .  .  .  and  thereupon  the  House  being  called 
over  the  question  was  carried  in  the  affirmative  by  a  great 
majority."  The  project  was  soon  afterwards  abandoned, 
and  fifty  years  elapsed  before  Mr.  Jefferis's  proposal  was 
carried  out.  The  above  minute,  however,  has  led  several 
local  writers  into  error  as  to  the  history  of  the  subsequent 
Mansion  House. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  August,  1735,  a  letter  was 
read  from  Mr.  Scrope  resigning  the  recordership  on  the 
ground  of  age  and  infirmity.  The  learned  gentleman, 
whose  laborious  services  at  the  Treasury  had  led  to  a  per- 
functory performance  of  his  duties  in  his  native  city,  had 
refused  to  receive  any  salary  from  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment. He  had  already  been  complimented  with  a  present 
of  plate,  which  cost  £119,  and  it  was  resolved  to  forward 
him  another  gift  of  the  same  kind,  value  JKISO,  together 
with  a  butt  of  sherry.  The  precious  articles  selected  were 
a  basin  and  ewer,  which  the  recipient,  in  a  graceful  letter 
of  thanks,  described  as  "  the  most  curious  that  ever  was 
seen."  Having  been  requested  to  recommend  a  fitting 
person  for  the  vacant  office,  Mr.  Scrope,  observing  that  more 
frequent  gaol  deliveries  were  desirable,  and  that  it  would  be 
convenient  to  have  a  recorder  living  in  the  neighbourhood, 
suggested  Mr.  Michael  Foster,  then  clerk  of  the  peace  for 
Wiltshire.  Mr.  Foster,  who  was  unanimously  elected,  relin- 
quished his  previous  office,  took  up  his  residence  at  Ashley, 
and,  until  his  elevation  to  the  judicial  bench,  was  an  active 
and  useful  member  of  the  Chamber  by  right  of  the  alder- 
manic  office  then  attached  to  the  recordership.  Mr.  Scrope, 
who  continued  to  hold  the  secretaryship  of^  the  Treasury, 
died  in  1763,  aged  upwards  of  ninety  years. 

Bristol  was  visited  in  September  by  a  traveller  from  the 
East,  apparently  in  pecuniary  difficulties.  The  Council 
gave  directions  to  the  chamberlain  to  pay  five  guineas  "  to 
Scheck  Schidit,  one  of  the  nobility  of  the  city  of  Beritus,  to 
help  support  him  in  his  travels.'^  Beritus  was  probably  the 
modern  Beyrouth,  the  seaport  of  Damascus. 

A  horrible  incident,  only  recorded  bicause  of  the  light 
that  it  throws  on  the  barbarity  of  the  age,  occurred  in 
Septemb2r.  A  ship  captain,  named  James  Newton,  was 
convicted  of  the  murder  of  his  wife,  by  trampling  upon  her 
in  a  fit  of  passion,  and  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  Two 
days  after  the  trial,  however,  he  succeeded  in  committing 
suicide   in   Newgate,  by   means  of  poison,  whereupon   the 


1735.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  193 

coroner's  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  self  murder,  and  the 
body,  according  to  custom,  was  buried  at  four  cross  roads, 
with  a  stake  through  the  middle.  Newton  had  long  borne 
an  evil  character.  He  had  been  previously  tried  for  piracy, 
and  it  was  believed  that  his  brutality  had,  at  various  times, 
caused  the  death  of  four  of  his  sailors.  The  populace  were 
so  exasperated  at  his  escape  from  the  halter  tnat  they  dug 
up  his  body,  which  was  literally  torn  to  fragments,  and 
scattered  about  the  highway.  There  is  little  doubt  that,  if 
this  revolting  sc^ne  had  not  occurred,  the  wretch's  remains 
would  have  been  appropriated  by  others.  Farleifs  Bristol 
Newspaper  for  January  27th,  1728,  saj's: — '^The  shoo-maker 
that  hang'd  himself  last  week  without  Lawford's  Gate,  was 
bury'd  in  the  Cross  Road  called  Dungen's  Cross,  but  we  hear 
some  young  Surgeons  have  since  caused  it  to  be  taken  up 
again  to  anatomise." 

Jacobitism  had  still  many  devotees  in  the  city,  who,  by  a 
liberal  distribution  of  beer,  could  easily  excite  the  passions 
of  the  lower  classes.  A  local  correspondent  of  a  London 
journal,  writing  on  October  30th,  the  King's  birthday, 
says  :— "  Party  violence  is  grown  to  such  a  height  here  that 
as  the  magistrates  and  other  gentlemen  were  met  at  the 
Council  House  to  celebrate  the  evening,  and  had  made  a 
fine  illumination  representing  his  Majesty's  name  in  cypher, 
and  under  it  an  Orange,  from  which  issued  a  spear  wound- 
ing a  dragon  [hieroglyphics  understood  with  no  great  diffi- 
culty], the  mob  arose,  and  pelted  out  the  lights  with  dirt 
and  stones."  To  about  the  same  period  may  be  attributed 
a  printed  pasquinade  on  the  statue  of  William  III. — a  monu- 
ment which  was  naturally  the  object  of  Jacobite  spleen. 
The  writer  represents  the  magnates  of  the  city  *'  gathered 
together  unto  the  dedication  of  the  image  which  Nebuchad- 
nezzar the  king  had  set  up." 

The  extreme  inconvenience  caused  by  holding  the  public 
markets  twice  a  week  in  High  Street  and  Broad  Street  at 
last  induced  the  Corporation  to  deal  with  them.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1736,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  treat  for  the  pur- 
chase of  property,  and  to  build  a  fitting  market  house.  This 
step  ultimately  led  to  the  incksioa  of  markets  in  the 
Exchange  scheme.  In  the  meantimB  a  curious  regulation 
was  enforced  in  the  existing  markets.  The  civic  Fine-book 
records  that  in  December,  1744,  nine  butchers  were  mulcted 
10».  each  "  for  staying  in  Broad  Street  market  after  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening,"  and  there  were  many  subsequent 
convictions  for  this  offence. 

o 


194  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1736. 

In  Evans's  Chronological  History  is  an  entry  under  1736, 
alleging  that  a  survey  of  the  city  and  suburbs  made  in  that 
year  showed  the  number  of  the  houses  to  be  1,300,  with 
80,000  inhabitants.  The  writer  does  not  seem  to  have 
observed  that  his  figures  represented  an  average  population 
of  sixty-one  in  each  house.  A  more  trustworthy  record  of  this 
census  is  amongst  the  Cole  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum,  in 
the  handwriting  of  Browne  Willis,  the  eminent  antiquary, 
who  resided  here  for  some  time,  and  had  many  influential, 
local  friends.  From  Mr.  Willis's  notes  it  would  appear  that 
an  enumeration  had  also  taken  place  in  1712 ;  and  as  in 
January,  1713,  the  Corporation  of  the  Poor  drew  up  a 
petition  to  Parliament  for  power  to  levy  a  larger  rate,  owing 
to  "  the  city  being  considerably  enlarged,  and  its  inhabitants 
increased,"  it  is  probable  that  the  survey  was  made  under 
its  authority.  As  Willis's  paper  is  very  brief,  it  may  be 
given  entire : — 

1712  1735 

"  Houses  in  Bristol        4811  5701 

"  Encrease  in  23  years,  1390.    Besides  what  are  in  the  suburbs. 
"  N.B. — Lawford's  Gate  not  reckoned,  nor  what  are  out  of  the 
city  liberties,  wherein  may  be  computed  upwards  of  a  1000. 
*'  In  1752  1  was  at  Bristol  [which  had]  increased  above    2000 
since  1735.    Burials  in  St.  Jameses  pEirish,  400  a  year." 

Estimating  the  average  number  of  inhabitants  at  a  fraction 
over  five  per  house,  the  population  of  1712  must  have  been 
about  23,000,  and  that  of  1735  about  30,000,  or,  with  the 
suburbs,  35,000. 

A  belief  became  prevalent  amongst  the  local  merchants 
about  this  time  that  the  so-called  mayor's  due  of  40^.  on 
each  vessel  of  sixty  tons  burden  entering  the  port  was  an 
illegal  exaction,  and  several  firms  consequently  refused  to 
pay  the  charge.  In  order  to  insure  the  receipt  of  the  due, 
the  Corporation  had  frequently  issued  orders  forbidding 
vessels  above  the  taxable  tonnage  from  coming  to  the  quays 
without  obtaining  a  warrant  from  the  mayor — the  license 
being  gianted  only  on  receipt  of  the  impost.  This  arrange- 
ment being  set  at  defiance  by  the  recalcitrant  firms,  the 
Chamber  resolved,  in  January,  1736,  to  prosecute  the  pilots 
who  brought  up  ships  without  a  warrant ;  but  subsequently 
a  bolder  course  was  adopted,  and  actions  at  law  were  in- 
stituted by  the  mayor  against  Messrs.  W.  Hart  and  Sons, 
and  others,  who  had  repudiated  the  civic  claim.  On  the 
14th  July,  1737,  one  of  the  actions,  taken  as  a  test  case,  was 
tried  at  the  King's  Bench  sittings  in  the  Guildhall,  London, 
before  a  special  jury,  and  the  Weekly  Journal  of  the  16th 


1736.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  195 

has,  for  those  days,  an  unusually  full  report  of  tlie  proceed- 
ings. "  The  Plaintiff,"  it  says,  *' pleaded  custom  immemorial 
by  very  antient  men  and  much  antienter  writings  ;  that  the 
property  was  vested  in  the  mayor  for  the  time  being  by  a 
bye-law  of  the  Corporation,  and  proved  that  the  mayor, 
burgesses  and  commonalty  had  power  to  make  such  a  law 
vested  in  them  by  Act  of  Parliament.  He  further  assigned 
the  reason  for  it — the  great  expence  of  keeping  in  repair  the 
quay,  the  use  of  which  saved  the  trader  twice  the  sum  de- 
manded in  lighterage  only.  .  .  .  For  the  defendant  it 
was  urged  that  the  demand  was  an  imposition  and  of  no 
older  date  than  1711  .  .  .  that  he  was  not  the  only 
person  that  denied  the  payment,  and  produced  evidence 
thereof,  who  upon  their  examination  declared  their  dislike 
and  denial  of  it,  but  that  nevertheless  they  had  paid  it.  .  .  . 
After  a  trial  of  several  hours,  in  the  course  whereof  .  .  . 
half  the  archives  relating  to  the  city  of  Bristol  were  read  by 
order  of  counsel  on  one  side  or  the  other,  the  jury  gave  a 
verdict  for  40«.  damages  [the  amount  claimed]  for  the 
plaintiff,  and  confirmed  the  custom,  which  brings  in  up- 
wards of  £1000  per  annum."  The  last  observation  is  of 
interest,  as  it  throws  some  light  on  the  business  of  the  port. 
Until  many  years  after  this  date,  no  information  as  to  the 
receipts  from  the  due  is  to  be  found  in  the  civic  accounts, 
the  money  being  paid  directly  to  the  mayor.  In  the  course 
of  this  dispute,  the  Chamber  ordered  the  publication  of 
several  of  the  charters  of  the  city,  translated  from  the  Latin 
originals.  The  Rev.  Charles  Goodwyn  is  supposed  to  have 
been  employed  as  translator.  The  book  is  now  extrem3'y 
scarce. 

The  Merchants'  Society  having  solicited  the  Corporanon 
to  concur  with  them  in  opposing  Bills  about  to  be  laid 
before  Parliament  for  permitting  the  exportation  of  sugar 
from  the  West  Indies  to  various  continental  ports  with  )ut 
being  first  landed  in  England,  and  for  allowing  the  Irish 
people  to  export  their  wool  to  foreign  countries,  the  Chamber 
unanimously  agreed  in  March,  1736,  to  petition  against 
these  **  dangerous  "  proposals.  The  Q-overnment,  however, 
persisted  with  the  Bill  allowing  British  ships  to  carry  sugar 
from  the  colonies  to  the  continent  direct,  and  the  scheme 
became  law  in  1739,  amidst  the  wails  of  local  merchants. 
The  scheme  for  permitting  the  export  of  Irish  wool  was 
dropped,  to  soothe  the  English  clothing  trade,  to  which  the 
interests  of  Ireland  were  deliberately  sacrificed. 

A  change  in  the  habits  of  the  age  is  denoted  by  the  reso- 


196  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1736. 

lution  of  the  Council,  at  the  meeting  just  mentioned,  to  alter 
the  time  of  assembling  for  civic  business  from  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  two  hours  later.  A  fine  of  twelvepence 
was  imposed  on  members  who  neglected  to  appear  in  their 
robes.  A  few  w^eeks  later,  leave  of  absence  for  three  weeks 
was  granted  to  the  mayor,  in  order  that  he  might  take  a 
tour  **  on  horseback  "  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Up  to 
this  time  the  mayors  had  been  required  to  remain  unin- 
terruptedly at  their  post  during  their  year  of  office,  a  fine 
of  £100  being  imposed  on  anyone  absent  for  more  than  three 
successive  days.  But  the  above  concession  became  a  pre- 
cedent for  a  summer  holiday,  which  was  at  first  limited  to 
a  month,  but  during  the  last  half  of  the  century  was  ex- 
tended to  six  weeks.  By  another  regulation,  made  in  June, 
1736,  the  mayor  and  his  successors  were  granted  the  privilege 
of  nominating  such  keepers  of  game  on  the  corporate  manors 
— then  numerous  and  extensive — as  they  might  deem 
necessary.  The  right  of  shooting  was  of  course  reserved 
to  the  members  of  the  Corporation. 

Reference  will  be  found  in  a  previous  note  to  the  re- 
straints imposed  upon  English  cotton  manufactures  by  an 
Act  of  1719,  and  to  the  depressing  effects  of  that  law  on  a 
rising  local  industry.  By  1736  the  production  of  cotton 
fabrics  had  much  increased  in  England,  and  the  restrictions 
of  the  statute  became  irksome.  The  Merchants'  Society, 
amongst  other  bodies,  petitioned  Parliament  for  relief, 
alleging  that  the  cotton  mills  employed  vast  numbers  of 
people,  that  large  quantities  of  the  raw  material  were  im- 
ported into  Bristol  to  the  profit  of  the  West  India  trade,  and 
that  the  goods  made  therefrom  were  "  very  essential  in 
purchasing  negroes  on  the  coast  of  Africa."  In  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  the  clothiers,  the  restrictions  of  the  Act  were 
aoolished  as  regarded  fabrics  of  which  the  weft  was  cotton  and 
the  warp  linen.  This  may  have  given  a  temporary  stimulus 
to  the  industry  in  Bristol.  In  October,  1787,  the  poor  law 
guardians  empowered  a  committee  "  to  treat  with  Mr.  Alker 
concerning  the  employing  of  the  poor  of  this  house  for  the 
cottcn  manufactory."  but  no  result  is  recorded. 

The  marriage  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  in  April, 
1736,  was  celebrated  in  Bristol  with  the  customary  tokens 
of  rejoicing.  A  grand  corporate  entertainment  was  given 
in  Merchants'  Hall  at  a  cost  of  £110,  while  bell  ringing, 
salutes,  bonfires,  and  600  gallons  of  beer,  distributed  at 
Merchants'  Hall  and  Brandon  Hill,  entailed  a  further  charge 
of  £28.     The  Jacobites,  to  console  themselves,  made  an  un- 


1736.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  197 

usually  ostentatious  display  of  white  roses  on  the  following 
10th  of  June. 

The  magistrates  still  attempted  to  suppress  the  trickery 
of  knavish  tradesmen.  On  the  17th  June  a  butcher  was 
convicted  of  **  exposing  for  sale  in  Broad  Street  an  old  ewe, 
dressed  up  in  the  same  manner  as  a  lamb/'  for  which  he 
was  fined  40^.  The  hand  of  the  law,  however,  fell  most 
heavily  on  "  foreigners.''  In  the  same  month,  a  poor  non- 
freeman,  convicted  of  trading  as  a  hawker,  and  exposing 
goods  for  sale,  was  condemned  to  pay  £12  for  his  "  offence." 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  protection  of  the 
streets  was  confided  at  night  to  twelve  constables,  one 
being  appointed  for  each  ward.  On  the  6th  July,  1736, 
the  magistrates  ordered  that  in  addition  to  this  force,  a  body 
of  fifty-one  "  able  men "  should  be  enrolled  as  watchmen, 
and  distributed  amongst  the  wards  for  the  better  security  of 
the  city.  As  the  justices  had  no  power  to  levy  a  rate,  and 
the  Corporation  offered  no  pecuniary  assistance,  this  order 
soon  became  a  dead  letter. 

At  a  Council  meeting  on  the  25th  August,  it  having 
been  reported  that  the  recorder,  Mr.  Serjeant  Foster,  had 
delivered  the  gaol  three  times  since  his  appointment  in  the 
previous  year,  and  had  also  resigned  his  post  of  clerk  of  the 
peace  for  Wiltshire  "  in  honour  of  this  city,"  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  to  present  him  with  200  guineas.  Subse- 
quently, a  present  of  60  guineas  was  usually  made  after 
each  gaol  delivery. 

During  the  gaol  delivery  in  August  a  prisoner  named 
John  Vernham,  charged  with  a  burglary  on  St.  Michael's 
Hill,  obstinately  refused  to  plead  to  his  indictment.  The 
recorder  warned  him  of  the  terrible  consequences  of  his 
persistence  in  "standing  mute,"  but  though  told  that  he 
would  be  pressed  to  death  according  to  the  ancient  custom 
of  the  realm,  he  continued  stubbornly  silent.  Orders  were 
therefore  given  for  carrying  out  the  peine  forte  et  dure  in 
Newgate.  As  a  man  had  been  pressed  to  death  at  Lewes 
assizes  in  the  previous  summer,  the  case  excited  intense 
interest.  At  the  last  moment,  however,  the  horrible  nature 
of  the  punishment  overcame  Vernham's  resolution,  and  he 
was  forthwith  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  death. 
Another  man,  named  Harding,  convicted  of  shoplifting,  was 
also  left  for  execution  ;  and  both  convicts  were  taken  to  the 
gallows  field  at  St.  Michael's  Hill  on  the  3rd  September. 
The  careless  manner  in  which  executions  were  then  con- 
ducted,  frequently   noticed   in   contemporary   newspapers, 


198  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1736. 

was  strikingly  manifested  on  this  occasion.  After  the  two 
men  had  huug  for  the  usual  time,  the  bodies  were  taken 
down,  but  whilst  being  placed  in  coffins  both  showed  signs 
of  life.  Surgical  assistance  having  been  rendered,  Vernham 
recovered  consciousness,  and  was  able  to  speak  to  several  of 
the  bystanders,  but  died  during  the  following  night.  Hard- 
ing, who  also  revived  after  being  bled,  was  removed  to 
Bridewell,  where  great  numbers  of  persons  were  allowed  to 
visit  him.  A  local  newspaper  afterwards  announced  that  as  he 
had  been  "  always  defective  in  his  intellects,^'  he  was  not  to 
be  hanged  again,  but  "  to  be  taken  care  of  in  a  Charity 
House  " — meaning,  apparently,  an  almshouse !  His  strange 
story  can  be  traced  no  further. 

To  what  extent  the  "  gin  madness  "  of  London  affected 
Bristol  contemporary  records  are  silent.  In  consequence  of 
the  delirium  of  the  capital,  where,  in  some  streets,  one  house 
in  every  six  was  converted  into  a  ginshop,  a  Bill  was  brought 
into  Parliament  imposing  a  license  of  £50  on  each  retailer, 
and  a  duty  of  20^.  per  gallon  on  all  spirits  (the  duty  pre- 
viously had  been  6f  rf.  per  gallon) ;  and  although  the  Bristol 
Merchants*  Society  represented  that  the  tax  on  rum  would 
be  "  destructive  to  them  and  to  many  thousands  in  the 
colonies,"  the  measure  became  law.  On  the  29th  September, 
when  it  came  into  operation,  the  lower  classes  in  Bristol, 
says  a  local  paper,  made  merry  on  the  death  of  Madam  Gin, 
and  "  got  soundly  drunk  at  her  funeral,  for  which  the  mob 
made  a  solemn  procession."  The  Act,  however,  had  no 
practical  effect.  Amongst  many  liquors  concocted  to  evade 
the  law,  "  Mr.  Thomas  Andrews,  distiller,  in  Back  Street, 
Bristol,"  produced  a  compound  which  was  called  "  A  New 
Invention  found  out  in  Time,"  and  alleged  to  be  a  substitute 
for  all  spirituous  liquors.  "  The  price  too  is  upon  a  par  with 
geneva,  &c.  Sold  at  4^.  a  gallon  or  three  halfpence  the 
quartern  or  nogin"  {The  Weekly  Journal^  December  18th, 
1736). 

In  October,  1736,  the  vestry  of  St.  Mary  Redcliff  ad- 
dressed a  petition  to  the  bishop,  stating  that  they  had 
recently  erected  a  "  fair  organ  "  in  the  church,  for  which 
they  had  neglected  to  obtain  the  necessary  faculty.  The 
petition  further  set  forth  that  a  charity  school  for  forty  boys 
had  been  maintained  for  some  time  at  Redcliff  Back  by 
voluntary  subscriptions  in  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Thomas's 
parishes,  but  that  the  owner  of  the  schoolroom  had  de- 
manded an  additional  rent  of  £6  yearly,  which  could  not  be 
paid  without  injury   to  the  charity.     The  petitioners  went 


1736.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  199 

on  to  allege  that  the  east  end  of  the  Lady's  Chapel  in  St. 
Mary's  was  a  convenient  place  in  which  to  make  a  school- 
room, and  as  no  other  suitable  place  could  be  found,  they 
prayed  for  a  faculty  to  remove  the  school  there.  The 
bishop's  reply  has  not  been  preserved.  No  difficulty  was 
probably  raised  respecting  the  organ,  but  the  chancellor 
issued  an  order  requiring  dissentients  to  the  school  scheme 
to  show  cause  against  it.  The  design  must  have  been 
abandoned,  for  in  1739  a  school-house  for  the  education  of 
forty  boys  of  the  two  parishes  was  erected  in  Pyle  Street,  to 
which  Thomas  Malpas,  who  had  made  a  fortune  as  a  pin- 
maker,  added  a  dwelling  for  the  schoolmaster  in  1749. 
(Chatterton's  father  became  subsequently  master  of  the  school, 
and  the  poet  was  probably  bom  in  this  house.)  About  the 
period  when  the  school  changed  its  quarters,  the  trustees  of 
Edward  Colston,  under  powers  conferred  upon  them  by  his 
wiD,  endowed  it  with  a  sum  of  £20  a  year,  originally  be- 
queathed for  an  annual  series  of  lectures. 

The  court  of  mayor  and  aldermen,  in  November,  1736, 
fixed  the  number  of  alehouses  in  the  city  at  331,  exclusive 
of  inns,  wine-shops,  and  coffee  houses.  It  has  been  shown 
that  the  number  of  houses  in  1736  was  6701,  so  that  there 
was  one  alehouse  for  every  sixteen  private  dwellings.  St. 
James's  parish  had  sixty  of  those  places,  St.  Stephen's  and 
St.  Nicholas'  ninety  between  them,  and  St.  Michael's,  forty- 
five. 

At  this  date  the  roadway  from  St.  Augustine's  Back  to 
College  Green  was  a  dark  and  narrow  alley,  very  difficult  of 
ascent  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  hill.  In  December, 
1736,  the  Council  directed  a  committee  to  improve  the 
thoroughfare,  the  traffic  having  greatly  increased  since  the 
opening  of  the  Drawbridge.  The  committee  did  not  venture 
to  widen  the  lane,  but  the  gradient  was  improved  by  an  out- 
lay of  £369. 

In  the  closing  months  of  1736  Mr.  John  Elbridge,  deputy 
comptroller  of  the  Customs,  with  other  philanthropic  gentle- 
men, started  a  movement  for  the  establishment  of  an  Infir- 
mary in  Bristol.  The  proposal  being  favourably  received,  a 
meeting  of  citizens  was  held  on  the  30th  December,  when, 
says  a  local  reporter,  "  persons  of  all  persuasions  appeared 
and  subscribed.  .  .  .  Among  several  other  good  laws,  it 
was  resolved  that  no  person  be  admitted  who  has  not  been 
resident  in  the  city  or  the  out-parishes  of  St.  James  and  St. 
Philip  for  the  space  of  six  months,  except  mariners  or  in  the 
case  of  casualties  in  the  city  or  out-parishes."     The   pro- 


200  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1736-37. 

moters  soon  afterwards  obtained,  on  a  lease  of  1,000  years,  a 
plot  of  ground  in  Jobbings  Leaze,  adjoining  Magdalen  Lane, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  at  once  erect  the  central  portion  of 
the  design  adopted,  leaving  two  wings  to  be  added  at  a 
future  time.  The  building  arose  under  the  unwearied  supar- 
intendence  of  Mr.  Elbridge,  who  subsequently  equipped  it 
with  furniture,  linen,  and  surgical  appliances,  at  a  personal 
cost  of  £1,600.  The  Infirmary  was  opened  for  in-patients  on 
the  13th  December,  1737.  In  the  following  year,  Mr. 
Elbridge  added  an  additional  ward,  and  just  before  his 
death,  a  few  months  later,  he  bequeathed  £6,000  to  an  insti- 
tution of  which  he  may  be  fairly  termed  the  founder.  The 
example  of  Bristol  occasioned  similar  movements  at  Bath, 
Edinburgh,  York,  and  Exeter. 

Owing  to  the  want  of  a  lighthouse  at  the  Holmes,  disasters 
to  Bristol  ships  were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  foggy  weather. 
During  the  later  months  of  1736  the  wreck  of  a  vessel  having 
sixty  soldiers  on  board,  all  of  whom  were  drowned,  caused  a 
great  sensation,  and  the  Society  of  Merchants,  supported  by 
the  mercantile  body,  memorialised  the  Trinity  House  autho- 
rities in  Ijondon  for  the  erection  of  a  lighthouse  on  the  Flat 
Holme.  The  building  was  finished  in  November,  1737.  The 
lamps  of  the  time  being  useless  for  such  a  purpose,  the 
beacon  consisted  of  a  large  brazier,  fed  with  wood  or  coal. 
Strange  to  say,  this  primitive  arrangement  continued  with- 
out improvement  until  1820,  although  many  fatal  disasters 
had  occurred  in  rough  weather  owing  to  the  inefficiency  of 
the  light  and  the  carelessness  of  the  warders,  who  sometimes 
fell  asleep  and  allowed  it  to  disappear.  An  agitation  on  the 
subject  having  arisen  in  Bristol,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
corporation  of  the  Trinity  House  had  at  the  outset  permitted 
the  owner  of  the  island  to  erect  and  maintain  the  beacon, 
guaranteeing  him,  by  lease,  a  passing  toll  on  the  vessels  sup- 
posed to  be  benefitted  by  it.  The  representative  of  the  lessee 
was  alleged  to  be  enjoying  a  clear  income  of  nearly  £4,000  a 
year  from  the  lighthouse,  and  to  have  refused  to  incur  an  addi- 
tional outlay  of  £100  annually  for  its  improvement.  Owing 
to  the  indignation  aroused  by  the  affair,  the  outlying  interest 
in  the  lease  was  purchased  by  the  Trinity  House  for  £14,000 
in  December,  1823. 

The  introduction  of  Methodism  into  Bristol  by  the  Rev. 
George  Whitefield  took  place  in  January,  1737.  Whitefield 
may  be  almost  claimed  as  a  Bristolian,  his  father,  Thomas, 
having  been  a  wine  merchant  in  the  city  before  his  removal 
to  the  Bell  inn  at  Gloucester,  whilst  his  mother,  originally 


1737.]  IN  THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTDRY.  201 

Elizabeth  Edwards,  was  of  Bristol  birth,  and  related  to  the 
reputable  civic  families  of  theBlackwells  and  the  Dinmours. 
Their  son  was  ordained  at  Gloucester  in  June,  1736,  and  had 
just  completed  his  twenty-second  year  when  he  paid  this 
memorable  visit  to  his  Bristol  friends.  Being  already  famous 
as  a  preacher,  the  pulpits  of  several  churches  were  placed  at 
his  disposal,  and  he  stated  in  a  letter  that  the  attendance  on 
week-days  forthwith  became  as  great  as  it  was  previously  on 
Sundays,  and  that  Dissenters  of  all  sects  flocked  to  hear  him. 
Amongst  other  marks  of  respect,  he  was  requested  to  preach 
at  the  Mayor^s  Chapel.  Occasionally  he  preached  four  times 
a  day,  yet  his  admirers  continued  so  numerous  that  the 
churches  were  sometimes  filled  to  overflowing.  Whitefield's 
primary  object  in  visiting  the  city  was  to  take  leave  of  his 
relatives  previous  to  sailing  to  the  new  colony  of  Georgia,  to 
which  he  was  called  by  his  friends,  John  and  Charles 
Wesley,  then  about  to  return  to  England.  The  vessel  in 
which  he  was  to  sail  being  detained  for  many  months,  he 
was  again  in  Bristol  in  May  and  June,  when  the  multitude 
of  his  hearers  largely  increased,  all  ranks,  sects,  and  classes 
falling  under  the  spell  of  his  eloquence.  Some  people,  he 
wrote,  unable  to  gain  admission  into  the  churches,  "  climbed 
up  to  the  leads  '*  in  the  hope  of  hearing  him.  After  his  fare- 
well sermon  "  multitudes  followed  me  home  weeping.''  At 
the  close  of  1738,  when  he  returned  from  Georgia  to  receive 
priest's  orders  and  to  raise  funds  for  his  new  orphanage  near 
Savannah,  he  found  that  the  Wesleys'  evangelising  efforts  in 
London  and  Oxford  had  given  great  offence  to  the  clergy, 
and  he  was  himself  refused  admission  to  many  pulpits.  In 
Bristol,  where  he  stayed  with  friends  in  Baldwin  Street,  he 
was  allowed  to  preach  a  few  times,  but  met  with  a  rebuff  at 
St.  Mary  Eedcliff,  and  was  threatened  with  similar  treat- 
ment at  other  churches.  On  appealing  to  the  Dean  of 
Bristol  against  the  proscription.  Dr.  Creswicke  (whose  love 
of  cockfighting  has  been  already  mentioned)  replied  : — "  We 
would  rather  not  say  yea  or  nay  to  you  ;  but  we  mean  nay, 
and  greatly  wish  you  would  understand  us  so."  Whitefield 
thereupon  took  a  step  which  he  had  often  meditated.  The 
moral  and  spiritual  destitution  of  the  Kingswood  colliery 
district  at  that  period  seems  almost  incredible  to  a  later 
generation.  Many  hundreds  of  families  were  scattered  over 
what  had  anciently  been  a  royal  forest,  grovelling  in 
wretched  hovels,  utterly  uncared  for  by  the  half  dozen 
"  lords  "  who  had  usurped  possession  of  the  soil,  and  dreaded 
far  and  near  from  their  barbarous  ignorance  and  brutality. 


202  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1737. 

A  large  tract  of  the  "  chase  "  was  in  the  parish  of  St.  Philip, 
but  it  contained  no  place  of  worship,  and  of  course  no  school, 
while  the  area  in  the  parish  of  Bitton  was,  if  possible,  still 
more  uncivilized  On  this  race  of  domestic  heathens  White- 
field  resolved  to  exert  the  powers  which  he  was  forbidden  to 
employ  in  the  city ;  and  one  Saturday  in  February,  1739, 
the  day  after  his  interview  with  Dean  Creswieke,  he  re- 
paired to  a  place  called  Hanham  Mount,  and  addressed  about 
a  hundred  men  who  gathered  round  from  curiosity.  On 
the  following  day  he  preached  to  overflowing  congregations 
in  St.  Werburgh's  and  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  and  on  Monday 
there  was  an  immense  attendance  at  his  lecture  in  St. 
Philip's.  This  was  too  much  for  the  patience  of  the  autho- 
rities, who  summoned  him  before  them.  On  Tuesday  he 
attended  the  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  a  worldly  cleric  named 
Reynell,  afterwards  an  Irish  bishop,  who  asked  him  why  he 
presumed  to  preach  without  permission,  in  defiance  of  the 
canons.  Whitefield  replied  that  licenses  had  become  obso- 
lete, and  observing  that  there  was  another  canon,  forbidding 
clergymen  to  haunt  taverns  and  to  play  at  cards,  he  in- 
quired why  greater  offences  than  his  were  practised  without 
rebuke.  The  chancellor,  exasperated  at  the  reply,  declared 
that  if  Whitefield  repeated  his  illegal  conduct,  he  should  be 
first  suspended  and  then  excommunicated.  A  license  was 
then  formally  refused — probably  against  the  wishes  of  the 
estimable  Bishop  Butler,  who  seems  to  have  expressed  sym- 
pathy with  Whitefield,  and  afterwards  made  a  donation  to 
the  funds  of  his  orphanage.  Next  day,  undismayed,  the 
obnoxious  "  Methodist "  went  again  to  Kingswood,  where  he 
had  2,000  eager  listeners,  and  the  audience  was  more  than 
doubled  two  days  later,  when  he  preached  at  the  same  place. 
"  The  first  discovery  of  their  being  affected,"  he  wrote  after- 
wards, "  was  by  seeing  the  white  gutters  made  by  their  tears, 
which  plentifully  fell  down  their  black  cheeks  as  they  came 
out  of  the  coal-pits."  At  subsequent  services  the  number 
assembled  was  computed  at  20,000,  Bristolians  of  all  ranks 
being  attracted  in  crowds.  The  desire  of  the  citizens  to 
listen  to  the  fervent  missionary  soon  afterwards  brought 
about  an  invitation  that  he  should  preach  in  "  a  large  bowl- 
ing green  "  within  the  walls.  The  green  was  situated  in  the 
Pithay,  and  6,000  persons  were  present  at  an  early  morning 
service  in  this  novel  place  of  worship.  Receiving  an  appeal 
from  Wales,  Whitefield  records  that,  whilst  on  his  way  to 
respond  to  it,  he  was  temporarily  delayed  at  the  New 
Passage,  where  he  encountered  a  clergyman  who  refused  to 


1737.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  203 

enter  the  passage  boat  "  because  I  was  in  it.  .  .  .  He 
charged  me  with  being  a  Dissenter.  I  saw  him  soon  after 
shaking  his  elbows  over  a  gaming  table."  On  returning  to 
Bristol,  he  found  that  the  mayor  (William  JefTeris),  following 
up  the  action  of  the  clergy,  had  forbidden  him  to  preach  to 
the  neglected  prisoners  in  Newgate.  He  consequently  held 
services  in  the  yard  of  one  of  the  glass-houses,  which  was 
filled  by  the  neighbouring  poor.  Georgia,  however,  could 
not  be  neglected,  and  Whitefield,  before  leaving  for  America, 
appealed  to  the  Wesleys  to  continue  the  work  he  had  begun 
in  Bristol.  The  brothers  were  strongly  indisposed  to  accede, 
but  John,  after  frequently  resorting  to  his  practice  of  biblo- 
mancy,  believed  that  the  passages  he  hit  upon  conveyed 
approval  of  the  undertaking,  and  on  the  31st  of  March,  1739, 
the  founder  of  Wesleyanism  reached  Bristol,  and  was  intro- 
duced to  Whitefield's  friends.  Wesley,  who  had  hitherto 
stickled  for  "  decency  and  order,"  recorded  that  he  could 
scarce  reconcile  himself  to  the  "  strange  way  of  preaching  in 
the  fields  " — an  example  of  which  was  given  him  on  the 
following  day,  Sunday,  when  Whitefield  held  three  open-air 
services,  and  preached  a  farewell  sermon  in  a  private  room, 
the  way  to  which  was  so  thronged  that  to  gain  admittance 
he  had  to  mount  a  ladder,  and  climb  over  the  roof  of  an 
adjoining  house.  The  orator  departed  next  mornJDg,  passing 
through  excited  crowds,  and  laying  the  foundation  stone  of 
a  school  on  his  way  through  Kingswood.  [A  more  conve- 
nient site  having  been  afterwards  obtained,  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  school  actually  built  was  laid  by  John  Wesley 
in  the  following  June.  It  was  opened  about  a  twelvemonth 
later.]  Wesley's  first  service  had  been  held  on  the  previous 
evening,  "  to  a  little  society  in  Nicholas  Street.'^  Next  day, 
whilst  Whitefield  was  bidding  adieu  to  the  Kingswood 
colliers,  "  I  submitted,"  says  Wesley,  "  to  be  more  vile  .  .  . 
speaking  from  a  little  eminence  in  a  ground  adjoining  to  the 
city  to  about  3,000  people."  Two  daj's  later  he  preached 
again  at  Baptist  Mills,  to  an  audience  of  1,600.  This  dis- 
tinct repudiation  of  the  custom  of  the  Established  Church 
was  a  turning  point  in  the  career  of  Wesley,  and  led  to  un- 
foreseen results.  Little  "societies"  had  been  already  formed 
in  Nicholas  Street,  Baldwin  Street,  Castle  Street,  Gloucester 
Lane,  Back  Lane,  and  Temple  Street,  where  frequent  ser- 
vices were  held,  and  within  a  few  weeks  Wesley  records 
many  of  those  scenes  of  agonised  "  conversion  "  which  after- 
wards marked  the  movement.  He  was  also  allowed  to  preach 
in  Clifton  Church,  and  at  Newgate.    But  a  building  suitable 


204  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1737. 

for  regular  services  was  needed,  and  on  the  9th  May  "we 
took  possession  of  a  piece  of  ground  in  the  Horse  Fair,  where 
it  was  designed  to  build  a  room  large  enough  to  contain  both 
the  societies  of  Nicholas  and  Baldwin  Streets,  and  on  Satur- 
day, 12th,  the  first  stone  was  laid."  This  "  New  Room,"  the 
first  chapel  of  the  denomination,  which  Wesley  built  without 
knowing  how  to  defray  the  cost,  was  first  used  on  the  1st 
July,  for  evening  service.  (It  was  not,  however,  certified 
by  the  magistrates  as  a  place  of  worship  until  the  17th 
October,  174S,  on  which  day  "  the  house  of  Joseph  Matson, 
glass-maker.  Great  Gardens,"  also  obtained  a  certificate.) 
Two  apartments  were  added,  in  which  Wesley  and  the  early 
preachers  lodged — described  by  the  former  as  "  a  little  room, 
where  1  speak  to  the  persons  who  come  to  me,  and  a  garret, 
in  which  a  bed  is  placed  for  me."  Services  were  afterwards 
held  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  "  by  which  means  many 
more  attend  the  College  [cathedral]  prayers,  which  imme- 
diately follow,  than  ever  before."  But  in  despite  of  his 
respect  for  the  Establishment,  Wesley  was  excluded  from  all 
the  pulpits  in  the  city.  Some  felons  under  sentence  of  death 
earnestly  desired  to  speak  with  him,  but  Alderman  Becher 
gave  orders  that  he  should  not  be  admitted  into  Newgate. 
The  new  chapel  was  soon  afterwards  attacked  by  a  raging 
mob,  and  one  of  the  rabble  subsequently  admitted  that  they 
were  hired  for  the  purpose,  while  another,  a  ringleader,  com- 
mitted suicide  in  a  fit  of  remorse.  About  the  same  date — 
one  of  great  Methodistic  development — Wesley  began  to 
employ  lay  preachers,  the  first  of  whom  was  John  Cennick, 
who  laboured  at  Kingswood,  and  the  second  Thomas  Max- 
field,  a  Bristolian,  who  was  sent  to  London.  Wesley's  diver- 
gence from  Whitefield,  which  occurred  soon  after,  belongs  to 
the  general  history  of  Methodism ;  but  it  is  painful  to  read 
that,  in  1741,  the  former  expelled  two  of  his  followers  be- 
cause they  had  gone  to  hear  Whitefield  preach.  Intolerance, 
however,  was  then  deemed  a  virtue.  Whitefield  himself 
denounced  the  Wesleys,  and  in  the  Broadmead  Records, 
under  September,  1742,  it  is  noted  that  three  Baptists,  after 
being  reproved  for  frequenting  the  Wesleyan  services,  were 
repelled  from  communion  for  having  lapsed  into  Methodistic 
heresies.  The  second  Wesleyan  Conference  (the  first  was  in 
London)  was  held  in  the  New  Room,  in  August,  174B  ;  and 
the  Bristol  Conferences  were  very  numerous  during  the  fol- 
lowing thirty  years.  In  1749  Charles  Wesley,  on  his  mar- 
riage, became  a  resident  in  Bristol,  occupying  a  house  in 
Stoke's  Croft,  at  a  rental  of  £11  a  year.     He  resided  there 


J  737.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  205 

until  1771,  and  his  brother  often  lodged  at  the  house  during 
his  numerous  visits. 

The  estate  known  as  the  Montagues,  on  Kingsdown, 
having  been  purchased  by  Giles  Greville,  a  prosperous 
apothecary,  from  the  representatives  of  the  four  daughters 
of  Henry  Dighton,  Esq.,  the  new  owner,  in  February,  1737, 
laid  out  the  land  for  building,  and  commenced  by  erecting 
the  Montague  Tavern.  (R.  Smith's  MSS.)  The  intended 
new  suburb  made  little  progress  for  many  years.  A  house 
with  a  turret,  or  gazebo,  on  the  roof,  known  as  Wint's 
Folly,  was  advertised  to  be  let  in  March,  1750 ;  and  a  house 
"in  the  Parade''  was  for  sale  in  March,  1756.  In  the  Bristol 
Chronicle  of  July  6th,  1760,  is  the  announcement  of  a  sale,  at 
the  sign  of  the  Duke  of  Montague,  of  ''two  new  built  houses 
situated  on  Kingsdown."  In  another  contemporary  adver- 
tisement the  inn  is  styled  the  Montague's  Head.  One  or 
two  houses  were  built  m  Southwell  Street  about  1740. 

From  an  early  period  in  the  century,  the  industry  and 
enterprise  of  the  American  colonists  had  excited  the  jealousy 
of  home  manufacturers  and  traders.  Hats,  for  example, 
were  naturally  produced  at  a  cheap  rate  in  regions  where 
fur  was  plentiful ;  but,  on  the  appeal  of  English  hatters,  an 
Act  was  passed  in  1732  forbidding  colonial  makers  to  export 
their  hats,  or  even  to  transpoit  them  from  one  settlement 
to  another.  In  1719  a  Bill  passed  the  House  of  Commons 
forbidding  the  manufacture  in  the  colonies  of  "any  iron- 
wares whatsoever,"  but  the  measure  was  dropped  in  the  Upper 
House,  and  the  American  iron  works  slowly  developed.  At 
length,  in  March,  1737,  the  ironmasters  and  ironmongers  of 
Bristol  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons,  alleging  that  the 
people  of  New  England  were  producing  much  bar  iron,  and 
not  only  supplying  themselves  with  nails  and  other  iron 
ware,  but  were  exporting  large  quantities  to  neighbouring 
colonies,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  English  iron  trade, 
which,  if  not  relieved  from  this  competition,  must  certainly 
be  ruined.  Other  petitions  to  the  same  eflFect  being  pre- 
sented, a  committee  of  inquiry  was  appointed,  which  soon 
after  reported  that,  upon  trials  at  the  dockyards,  the  American 
iron  had  been  found  equal  to  the  best  Swedish,  and  that  if 
the  import  of  pigs  were  encouraged  by  removing  the  customs 
duty,  this  country  would  be  rendered  independent  of  the 
continent,  while  the  colonists  would  be  no  longer  encouraged 
to  work  up  their  raw  material  to  the  prejudice  of  English 
manufacturers.  A  great  difference  of  opinion  arose  amongst 
the  domestic  interests  affected,  one  party  urging  that  the 


206  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1737. 

colonial  iron  should  be  permitted  to  enter  in  bars,  while 
another  wished  to  restrict  the  imports  to  pigs.  On  behalf  of 
the  latter,  Mr.  William  Donne,  ironmonger,  of  Bristol,  the 
owner  of  two  furnaces  in  Virginia,  represented  to  the  com- 
mittee that  if  the  New  Englanders  were  allowed  to  make 
bars,  they  would  infallibly  compete  with  home  manufactures 
in  the  production  of  iron  ware.  Some  Gloucestershire  land- 
owners next  alleged  that  if  colonial  bar  iron  was  allowed  to 
enter,  their  woods  would  be  rendered  valueless,  and  a  large 
population  impoverished.  The  subject  was  shelved  ;  but  in 
1738  was  brought  again  before  the  House  by  the  iron  mer- 
chants of  Bristol,  who  represented  that  the  home  trade  was 
in  a  state  of  manifest  decay,  and  prayed  for  the  "discourage- 
monf  (meaning  prohibition)  of  American  imports.  The 
Commons  passed  a  resolution  affirming  the  advisability  of 

f prohibiting  the  extension  of  the  colonitd  works ;  but  nothing 
urther  was  done.  In  1760,  however,  an  Act  was  passed 
for  encouraging  the  import  of  American  pigs  and  bars,  and 
for  prohibiting  the  erection  of  rolling  mills  or  steel  furnaces 
in  the  colonies.  How  trumpery  were  the  grounds  of  English 
jealousy  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the  colonists  even 
then  possessed  only  two  slitting  mills,  one  plating  forge,  and 
one  steel  furnace.  The  measure  excited  the  customary  re- 
sistance of  domestic  monopolists ;  the  Gloucestershire  iron 
interest  vehemently  protesting  that  the  success  of  the  Bill 
would  lead  to  their  "  entire  ruin."  Probably  in  consequence 
of  these  and  other  appeals,  the  American  imports  were  con- 
fined to  London,  whence  the  iron  was  not  to  be  removed 
either  by  land  or  sea — a  restriction  repealed  in  1767  on  the 
petition  of  the  Bristol  Merchants'  Society  and  others,  amidst 
renewed  clamour  from  the  protected  industries. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  May,  1737,  a  petition  w^as 
presented  from  Rachel  Day,  widow  of  Alderman  Peter  Day, 
stating  that  by  reason  of  heavy  debts  contracted  by  her  late 
husband's  partners  in  Jamaica,  his  creditors  had  seized  his 
personal  estate,  whereby  she  was  reduced  to  the  greatest 
necessity.  The  Chamber  granted  her  an  annuity  of  £30. 
The  Days,  in  the  previous  generation,  had  been  one  of  the 
richest  families  in  the  city. 

In  the  spring  of  1737,  Dr.  Thomas  Seeker,  who  had  held 
the  bishopric  of  Bristol  for  three  years,  in  conjunction  with 
a  prebend  at  Durham  and  a  rectory  in  Westminster,  was 
translated  to  Oxford.  He  was  subsequently  advanced  to 
London,  and  ultimately  to  the  Primacy.  Like  Bishop 
Butler,  Dr.  Seeker  was  the  son  of  dissenting  parents,  and 


1737.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  207 

was  educated  at  a  Presbyterian  school  at  Tewkesbury.  His 
successor  at  Bristol  was  Thomas  G-ooch,  who  was  granted 
permission  to  hold  with  his  bishopric  the  rectory  of  St. 
Clement's,  London,  a  prebend  at  Canterbury,  another  at 
Chichester,  the  office  of  residentiary  at  Chichester,  and  the 
mastership  of  St.  Mary's  hospital  in  that  city.  Only  four- 
teen months  later — July,  1738 — the  well-endowed  prelate 
was  translated  to  Norwich,  and  was  succeeded  here  by 
Joseph  Butler,  the  most  distinguished  bishop  that  Bristol 
has  ever  possessed. 

What  is  called  by  the  contemporary  press  "  a  merry 
accident"  occurred  at  the  Michaelmas  quarter  sessions. 
Some  days  previously,  a  man,  intending  to  inform  against 
a  woman  who  clandestinely  sold  spirituous  liquors,  went  to 
her  house  and  asked  for  a  quartern  of  gin  for  his  alleged 
sick  wife.  The  woman,  suspecting  his  design,  put  a  measure 
of  vinegar  into  his  bottle,  which  he  at  once  carried  to  a 
magistrate,  but  the  latter,  declining  to  take  action,  told  the 
informer  he  might  bring  the  matter  before  the  sessions. 
This  the  man  did,  with  the  effect  of  being  sentenced  to  the 
stocks  for  affronting  the  court  by  the  production  of  his 
vinegar.  Being  incontinently  placed  in  the  instrument  of 
punishment,  he  was  pelted  almost  to  death  by  the  mob,  who 
finally  "brought  a  pitch  kettle,  pitched  him  all  over,  and 
afterwards  rolled  him  in  feathers,  by  which  means  he  made 
a  grotesque  figure." — The  pillory  was  also  popular  with  the 
justices  this  year.  Sarah  Elliott,  convicted  of  "  discolouring 
the  face  of  an  infant  and  endeavouring  to  impose  the  same 
on  a  negro  as  his  child,"  was  sentenced  to  stand  in  the 
pillory  an  hour,  and  to  undergo  three  months'  imprisonment. 
Two  knaves  were  sentenced  to  be  twice  exposed  on  the 
pillory,  but  at  their  first  exhibition  in  Wine  Street,  accord- 
nig  to  the  Sessions'  Book,  "  the  mob  grew  outrageous,  broke 
down  the  iron  bar  of  the  pillory,  threw  down  the  malefactors, 
and  treated  them  in  so  cruel  a  manner  as  that  one  of  them 
was  near  expiring  at  the  place."  The  magistrates  thereupon 
ordered  the  second  exposure  to  be  remitted.  In  February, 
1738,  a  surgeon  was  paid  two  guineas  for  attending  two 
men  grievously  injured  in  the  same  manner.  The  humours 
of  the  populace  in  reference  to  the  pillory  are  amusingly 
illustrated  by  a  Bath  paragraph  in  the  London  Weekly 
Journal  of  June  16th,  1739,  in  which  it  is  gravely  stated 
that  a  local  culprit  was  pelted  so  vigorously  during  his  ex- 
posure "  that  eggs  sold  for  two  a  penny  " — about  three  times 
the  ordinary  price. 


208  THE   ANXAL3   OF   BRISTOL  [1737—38. 

One  of  the  great  funerals  for  which  the  city  was  famous 
U)ok  place  on  Sunday,  the  30th  October,  1787.  About 
8  o'cl(x;k  in  the  evening,  the  body  of  Alderman  Robert  Yate, 
colonel  of  the  militia,  and  father  of  the  city,  was  carried 
from  his  mansion,  the  Red  Lodge,  in  a  magnificently  appa- 
relled hearse,  to  Christ  Church,  followed  by  the  officers  of 
the  CorjKjration,  the  boys  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  school  chant- 
ing a  dirge,  and  thirty-one  coaches,  containing  the  maj-or, 
aldermen^  and  other  gentlemen.  The  way  was  lighted  at  in- 
Uirvals  with  large  flambeaux,  and  the  streets  were  thronged 
with  sjicctators,  but,  says  a  London  journal,  "  according  to 
a  rude  unmannerly  custom,  the  hearse  was  dismantled  of 
the  escutcheons,  streamers,  Ac,  before  the  procession  was 
half  over." 

A  prodigious  flood  occurred  in  the  Avon  and  Froom  on 
th(^  10th  January,  1738,  owing  to  protracted  rains.  A  high 
tide  aiding  in  the  inundation,  many  low-lying  streets  were 
submorged,  and  the  destruction  of  goods  on  the  quays  and 
in  cellars  was  enormous.  A  local  correspondent,  who  com- 
municated a  few  details  to  a  London  newspaper,  estimated 
the  loss  at  £100,000.  Another  great  flood  took  place  in 
January,  1739,  when  two  houses  in  the  Shambles  (Bridge 
Street)  were  undermined  by  the  water,  and  became  a  heap 
of  ruins. 

The  migration  of  many  of  the  leading  families  to  Queen 
Square  l(^d  to  the  abandonment  of  the  old  Assembly  Rooms 
in  the  Pithay.  About  1737,  according  to  the  memory  of 
an  aged  citizen  (noted  in  Mr.  Seyer's  MSS.),  Messrs.  John 
Wallis,  John  Summers,  and  Roger  Elletson  succeeded  in 
establishing  winter  assemblies  at  the  Merchants'  Hall.  An 
incidental  notice  in  a  London  paper  of  December,  1738, 
states  that  the  Bristol  Assemblies  were  held  in  Coopers' 
Hall — then  near  Com  Street ;  and  balls  were  probably  given 
in  one  or  the  other  of  these  buildings  until  the  conversion 
into  an  Assembly  Room  of  the  theatre  in  St.  Augustine's. 
Mr.  Seyer's  informant  added  that  ladies  used  to  be  lighted 
home  irom  the  balls  by  their  maid  servants,  who  attended 
with  lanthorns. 

A  remarkable  disaster  to  the  Bristol  ship  Charming  Sally 
occurred  on  the  8th  March,  1738.  While  the  vessel  was  on 
a  voyage  from  Jamaica  it  struck  during  the  night  upon  a 
whale,  by  which  it  received  so  violent  a  shock  that  it  almost 
immediately  foundered.  The  crew  were  luckily  picked  up 
by  a  i>assing  vessel. 

Owing  to  the   difficulty  experienced    by  the  sheriflFs  in 


1788.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  209 

prevailing  upon  a  clergyman  to  attend  condemned  felons  in 
Newgate,  the  Council,  in  April,  resolved  that  a  sum  not 
exceeding  £5  yearly  should  be  granted  to  any  clergyman 
who  would  undertake  to  visit  the  gaol  and  accompany 
convicts  to  the  gallows.  A  few  months  later  a  physician  to 
the  prison  was  appointed  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  guineas. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  third  Earl  of  Berkeley,  the  Council, 
in  June,  elected  Lord  Hardwicke,  who  had  been  appointed 
Lord  Chancellor  in  1737,  to  the  office  of  Lord  High  Steward. 
In  December,  1739,  his  lordship  received  the  first  of  the 
numerous  butts  of  sherry  with  which  he  was  complimented 
by  the  Chamber. 

The  low  rate  of  wages  prevailing  in  the  clothing  trade — 
doubtless  due  to  its  declining  prosperity — has  been  already 
recorded  (see  p.  1()8).  As  a  natural  consequence  in  those 
days,  the  workmen  broke  into  disorders  whenever  there  was 
an  advance  in  the  price  of  food.  Great  distress  existed  in 
the  spring  of  1738,  and  there  were  numerous  disturbances. 
A  Bristol  paragraph  in  the  London  Country  Journal  of  May 
2()th  states  that  the  ^veavers  had  been  suffering  for  years 
nnder  inexpressible  hardships.  They  complained  that  their 
masters  had  "  engrossed  into  their  hands  the  most  necessary 
commodities  of  life,  such  as  corn,  butter,  cheese,  eggs,  salt, 
milk,  mutton,  pork,  &c.,"  and  that  when  they  carried  home 
their  work,  they  received  only  a  tenth  of  their  earnings  in 
money,  and  were  forced  to  take  the  rest  in  provisions  at 
twenty  per  cent  above  market  price.  **At  this  time  of  the 
year  eggs  may  be  bought  of  the  country  people  hereabouts 
six  for  a  penny,  but  no  more  than  four  is  allowed  by  their 
masters."  Moreover,  "  those  who  will  not  take  provisions  are 
obliged  to  take  goods  fifty  per  cent  dearer  than  th3  shop- 
keepers will  sell  for,  which  they  are  obliged  to  vend  at  any 
rate,  to  get  a  little  money  to  support  tl.eir  poor  distressed 
families.''  The  writer  alleges  that  the  riotous  c^nluct  of 
the  workmen  had  been  occasioned  by  these  practices  (which 
were  common  in  the  western  clothing  districts). 

The  abortive  attempt  of  Mr.  Jefferis  to  extend  the  fame 
of  the  city  by  setting  up  a  mansion  house  is  noted  at  page  101. 
In  June,  1738,  the  same  admirer  of  display  moved  in  the 
Council  that  "for  the  honour  and  grandeur  'f  the  city,  a 
public  coach  should  be  provided  at  the  (^xp  nse  of  the 
Chamber,  for  the  use  of  mayors  for  the  time  being."  As 
Mr.  Jeiferis  was  already  designated  as  mayor  f.  r  tlip  following 
year,  the  lack  of  modesty  shown  by  his  proposal  seems  to 
have  provoked  opposition,  and  the  motion  was  negatived. 


210  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1738. 

For  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  previous  to  this 
date,  scarcely  any  mention  occurs  in  the  corporate  records 
of  the  Library  House  given  to  the  city  by  Robert  Redwood 
in  1613,  or  of  the  books  presented  to  it  by  that  eminent 
native  of  Bristol,  Tobias  Mathew,  Archbishop  of  York. 
Entries,  indeed,  are  made  from  time  to  time  of  the  election 
of  librarians,  but  the  office  held  by  those  worthies  (who  had 
£2  a  year  and  a  residence)  was  practically  a  sinecure.  On 
the  8th  December,  1725,  a  petition  was  presented  from  the 
Rev.  Robert  Clarke,  vicar  of  St.  Leonard's,  and  styling 
himself  "  librarian  by  will  of  the  donor,"  setting  forth  that 
the  building  was  ruinous  and  unsafe,  while  the  books  were 
in  danger  of  being  spoiled,  whereupon  a  committee  of  in- 
quiry was  appointed.  The  interest  taken  in  the  institution 
may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  nothing  more  is  recorded 
about  it  for  thirteen  years.  In  September,  1738,  however, 
the  recorder  (still  taking  an  active  part  in  corporate  affairs) 
drew  attention  to  the  forlorn  state  of  the  Library,  and 
obtained  the  appointment  of  another  committee,  which  soon 
after  reported  that  the  books  were  in  so  much  danger  in  the 
ruinous  building  that  they  had  been  removed  to  the 
Council  House.  It  was  recommended  that  the  house  in 
King  Street  should  be  forthwith  rebuilt,  some  old  hovels  in 
front  of  it  removed,  and  an  adjoining  piece  of  ground 
purchased.  The  Council  having  adopted  those  suggestions, 
the  Library  as  it  now  stands  (excepting  the  western  wing 
of  later  date)  was  completed  in  1740.  An  interesting  feature 
in  the  principal  room — the  beautifully  carved  chimney-piece 
by  Grinling  Gibbons — is  said  to  have  been  given  by  Alder- 
man Michael  Becher.  In  1743,  when  the  librarianship 
became  vacant,  the  Chamber  appointed  the  Rev.W.  Williams, 
much  to  the  wrath  of  the  vicar  of  St.  Leonard's,  the  Rev. 
Wm.  Pritchard,  who  claimed  it  by  right  of  his  incumbency, 
c<  n tending  that  several  of  his  predecessors  had  so  held  the 
office,  "  or  at  least,"  he  ingenuously  added,  "  received  the 
rent  of  the  librarian's  house."  His  threat  to  seek  relief  in 
the  law  courts  was  never,  however,  carried  out. 

A  robbeiy  of  the  postboy  carrying  the  mails  between 
London  and  Bristol  was  so  common  an  occurrence  in  the 
early  part  of  the  century  as  to  be  unworthy  of  record.  To 
give  an  illustration,  two  men  were  executed  in  April,  1720, 
for  having  twice  committed  this  crime,  yet  the  letter  bags 
were  again  stolen  seven  times  during  the  following  twelve 
months,  the  Ij)ndon  Journal  of  August  27th  remarking,  "  It 
is  computed  that  the  traders  of  Bristol  have  received  £6O,0CO 


1738.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  211 

damages  by  the  late  robberies  of  the  mail."  In  1722  the 
postboys  were  pillaged  twice  in  a  single  week,  and  three 
men  were  executed  in  London  for  the  robberies.  The  only 
other  incident  of  this  kind  worth  mentioning  occurred  iu 
September,  1738.  The  bag  then  carried  off  by  three  high- 
waymen contained  a  reprieve  for  a  man  lying  under  sentence 
of  death  in  Newgate,  and  a  second  reprieve,  despatched 
after  the  robbery  became  known,  would  have  arrived  too 
late  to  save  the  man's  lite,  had  not  the  magisti'ates  postponed 
the  execution  for  a  day  or  two,  in  order  that  it  might  not 
clash  with  the  festivities  of  a  new  mayor's  inauguration. 

A  singular  entry  occurs  in  the  minutes  of  a  Council  meet- 
ing on  the  23rd  September.  "  Alderman  Becher  complained 
that  this  city  had  been  reflected  on,  in  that  the  Butchers' 
Company  here  was  by  their  ordinances  restrained  from 
killing  any  fresh  meat  on  Mondays  for  the  accommodation 
of  strangers  and  others,  an  inconvenience  attendirg  no  other 
town  in  England."  A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter,  but  it  never  reported.  Mr.  Becher's  statement 
is  not  corroborated  by  the  Butchers'  ordinances,  which  had 
been  confirmed  by  the  Council  in  1714.  According  to  these 
regulations,  no  animal  was  to  be  killed  on  Thursday  for 
sale  on  Friday,  nor  on  Saturday  for  sale  on  Sunday  or 
Monday.  Any  citizen,  not  a  free  butcher,  who  killed  an 
animal  for  sale  in  the  city  was  liable  to  a  penalty  of  20.'?. 

A  breach  in  the  ancient  fortifications,  with  a  view  to  accom- 
modate the  increasing  traffic  of  the  streets,  was  resolved 
upon  by  a  reluctant  Council  in  the  autumn  of  1738.  The 
first  of  the  old  gateways  ordered  to  be  removed  was  the 
Back  Gate,  which  had  long  been  a  great  inconvenience  to 
carriages  proceeding  to  and  from  Queen  Square.  The 
strongly  conservative  instincts  of  the  Chamber  in  reference 
to  the  defences  of  the  city  were  shown  three  years  la  *^r 
(May,  1741),  when  orders  were  given  that  the  porter's  lod^e 
at  Redcliff  Gate  should  be  taken  down  and  rebuilt.  In  17B3 
a  sum  of  £1  18.<f.  was  paid  •'  for  making:  three  city  locks  for 
the  city  gates."  The  porters  at  Redcliff  and  Temple  Gates 
received  a  salary  of  37«.  per  annum  each  from  the  sheriffs, 
and  probably  eked  out  a  living  by  imposing  a  toll  on  persons 
passing  the  barriers  during  the  night. 

A  violent  rising  of  the  Kingswood  colliers  occuiTed  early 
in  October,  1738.  It  was  occasioned  by  some  of  the  petty 
coalowners  having  undersold  the  other  proprietors  in  the 
fuel  used  by  the  glass  and  sugar  houses,  whereupon  the 
injured  firms  reduced  the  miners'  wages  from  Is.  id.  to  Is. 


212  THE    ANNALS    OF    BRISTOL  [1738. 

per  day  to  meet  the  compf*tition.  Refusing  to  work  at  this 
rate,  the  colliers  rose  in  a  body,  filled  up  the  shafts  of  several 
pits,  cut  off  communication  with  the  city  by  carts  and  pack- 
horses,  stopped  the  coaches,  demanded  money  from  travellers 
on  the  London  road,  sacked  Totterdown  House  (an  inn),  and 
forced  the  Brislington  miners — called  by  a  local  paper  the 
"  civilised  colliers  " — to  join  them.  Rioting  continued  for 
several  da3'S,  many  suburban  public-houses  being  sacked. 
The  justices  sent  off  an  express  to  the  Government  asking 
for  troops,  tlie  watch  was  doubled,  and  the  city  gates 
were  guarded.  The  arrival  of  a  regiment  struck  the  Kiiigs- 
wood  colliers  with  a  panic.  Upwards  of  sixty  were  aiTested, 
and  the  corporate  accounts  of  the  following  year  contain  the 
following  unique  item  : — "  Recovered  from  the  colliers  who 
was  prosecuted  for  a  riot,  Oct.,  1738,  £51." 

Responding  to  an  invitation  from  the  Common  Council, 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  then  sojourning  at  Bath, 
paid  a  visit  to  this  city  on  the  10th  November.  As  the 
accounts  hitherto  published  of  the  proceedings  are  very  mea- 
gre, it  may  be  amusing  to  read  some  additional  details  from 
contemporary  documents,  especially  from  a  lengthy  narra- 
tive which  the  civic  scribes,  for  some  inexplicable  reason, 
inserted  in  the  midst  of  the  Council  minutes  for  1744.  As 
soon  as  the  royal  journey  was  determined  upon,  the  parochial 
officers  along  the  intended  route  summoned  the  inhabitants 
to  pei-form  their  statutable  duty  in  mending  the  roads, 
which  had  become  almost  impassable  since  the  turnpike 
riots.  Fortunately,  says  the  London  Evemng  Post^  Colonel 
Brydges,  of  Keynsham,  invited  their  royal  highnesses  to 
proceed  through  his  park,  which  extended  almost  to 
Brislii.gton  Common,  and  one  of  the  worst  portions  of  the 
miry  highway  was  thus  avoided.  The  civic  chronicler 
states  that  the  sheriffs  met  the  distinguished  party  at 
Totterdown,  where  a  procession  was  formed,  headed  by  **  the 
wool-combers  in  their  shirts,  with  wigs  and  other  emblems 
of  their  trade  in  wool ;  the  weavers  in  the  same  manner, 
with  a  loom,  and  a  boy  in  it  making  a  piece  of  stuff."  (The 
boy  had  a  gift  of  five  guineas  from  the  Prince.)  Then  came 
a  long  file  of  citizens  on  horseback,  the  sheriffs  w^ith  an 
imposing  retinue,  a  liand  of  music,  and  a  great  number  of 
coaches,  followed  by  **  the  glassmen  in  white  shirts,  on 
horseback,  with  glass  swords  and  other  devices."  At  Temple 
Gate,  where  the  corporate  dignitaries  were  assembled  in  a 
booth  covered  with  scarlet  cloth,  the  cavalcade  received  a 
salute   from  200  cannon,  and   the  recorder  made  a  "  most 


1738.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  213 

excellent  speech  "  to  the  Prince,  concluding  with  a  humble 
desire  that  he  would  accept  the  freedom  of  the  city.  The 
Prince  assenting,  the  certificate  of  freedom  in  a  gold  bdx 
was  presented  by  the  mayor.  The  procession  was  then 
reformed.  "  The  throng  grew  now  exceeding  thick.  The 
citizens  seemed  to  vie  with  one  another  in  adorning  their 
houses ;  some  hung  out  velvet,  others  silk  tapestry,  carpets, 
and  cloth  of  gold;  so  that  the  streets  appeared  to  be  covered 
with  the  richest  furniture  of  the  inhabitants.  The  city 
companies  contributed  a  great  share  to  the  grandeur  of  the 
solemnity.  The  church  steeples  and  towers  made  a  splendid 
show,  and  the  ships  in  their  marine  gaiety  and  glory."  The 
royal  guests  having  reached  the  house  of  Mr.  Henry  Combe, 
in  Queen  Square,  which  had  been  specially  prepared  for 
their  reception,  they  were  met  on  the  stairs  "  by  Mrs.  Mayor- 
ess and  Mrs.  Recorderess ;  and  then  they  showed  themselves 
to  the  populace  from  the  windows."  The  mayor  and 
recorder  next  came  forward  to  pay  their  compliments  ;  the 
master  of  the  Merchants'  Society  presented  the  Prince  with 
the  freedom  of  the  company  in  a  gold  box  ;  the  clergy  offered 
a  loyal  address  ;  and  every  one  who  took  part  in  these  cere- 
monies kissed  the  princely  hands.  At  4  o'clock  the  visitors 
and  their  hosts  adjourned  to  the  Merchants'  Hall,  where  the 
wives  of  the  civic  notables  were  assembled,  and  there  was 
much  more  hand-kissing  for  their  satisfaction.  At  length 
the  party  sat  down  to  dinner.  *'  As  there  was  no  limitation 
to  the  expense  of  the  entertainment,  it  was  immensely  grand, 
and  no  livery  permitted  to  be  in  the  hall,  but  the  tables  of 
their  Royal  Highnesses  were  served  by  gentlemen's  sons, 
and  the  others  by  officers  of  the  Corporation."  After  dinner, 
"  the  Prince  began  tbe  healths  of  his  Majesty  and  Prosperity 
to  the  City  of  Bristol  in  sherry  and  sugar  in  the  city  Gilt 
Cup,  and  delivered  it  to  the  mayor,  and  so  each  gentleman 
drank  it,  and  the  cup  being  replenished  was  by  the  mayor 
presented  to  the  Princess,  who  drank  of  it  with  the  usual 
healths,  as  did  the  rest  of  the  ladies."  On  rising  from  the 
table,  the  visitors  went  for  a  short  time  to  their  lodgings, 
while  the  hall  was  rapidly  converted  into  a  ball  room,  two 
chairs  of  state  being  placed  at  the  upper  end.  At  9  o'clock 
the  Prince  opened  the  ball  with  the  mayor's  daughter,  and 
afterwards  danced  with  "  the  recorderess  "  and  other  ladies. 
During  the  evening  "  the  Princess  diverted  herself  with  a 
short  pool  at  Quadrille,  and  the  Prince  did  the  company 
much  honour  in  talking  with  many  of  them  till  about  12 
o'clock.     Then  being  mightily  fatigued  (they)  withdrew  to 


214  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1738. 

their  lodgings,  attended  by  the  mayor  as  before."  (The 
royal  suite  were  accommodated  at  the  mansions  of  Sir 
Abraham  Elton,  Alderman  Elton,  and  Mr.  Calwell.)  Fire- 
works forthwith  began  to  play  around  the  statue  of  William 
III.,  "  and  lasted  till  2  in  the  morning,  and  thus  ended  that 
glorious  day."  Next  morning  the  Prince,  after  visiting  the 
Hot  Well,  partook  of  a  grand  breakfast  with  the  Corporation. 
His  Eoyal  Highness  gave  the  mayor  i:200  for  releasing  poor 
prisoners  for  debt  in  Newgate,  whilst  the  Princess  presented 
the  mayoress  with  a  bloodstone  repeating  watch,  and  finally 
the  Prince  gave  Mr.  Combe's  son  a  snuff-box  set  with  dia- 
monds. The  visitors  then  returned  to  Bath,  where  a  depu- 
tation afterwards  waited  upon  them  to  return  thanks  for 
the  honour  they  had  been  pleased  to  confer  on  Bristol. 
Such  is  the  record  of  the  civic  scribe,  much  shorn  of  unin- 
teresting details.  The  chamberlain's  accounts  show  that 
the  entertainment  entailed  an  outlay  of  what  was  then 
considered  the  enormous  sum  of  i6966.  Amongst  the  pay- 
ments are  £6  0**.  6d.  for  *'  Shampeighn "  (probably  drunk 
for  the  first  time  in  Bristol),  12^.  for  about  800  tobacco  pipes, 
£78  10^.  for  gunpowder,  iE14  10^.  for  the  hire  of  pewter 
plates  and  dishes,  and  thirty  guineas  to  the  weavers  and 
woolcombers  for  their  display.  The  London  Evening  Post 
stated  that  upwards  of  600  partook  of  the  great  dinner, 
for  which  some  tickets  had  been  eagerly  purchased  at 
five  guineas  each. 

The  reader  will  have  observed  that  the  road  out  of  Bath 
was  put  in  crier  on  the  occasion  of  the  Prince's  progress. 
Nevertheless,  early  in  the  following  Jauuarj',  after  heavy 
rains,  access  to  Bath  became  almost  whoUy  impracticable 
owing  to  the  state  of  the  highways.  The  farmers  seized 
the  opportunity  not  merely  to  raise  the  price  of  butter  to 
four  times  its  usual  price  in  Bristol,  but  "  to  bring  a  great 
deal  to  market  several  ounces  under  weight." 

The  temper  of  the  authorities  was  much  exercised  at  this 
time  by  an  impracticable  baker.  On  the  2nd  Deceml)er, 
1738,  the  mayor  reported  to  the  Council  that  he  had  lately 
sent  a  warrant  to  Thomas  Tawman,  ordering  his  attendance, 
and  that  the  man,  on  appearing,  had  behaved  insolently, 
and  stood  in  open  defiance  of  his  worship's  orders  and  of  the 
Bakers'  Company.  The  Chamber  ordered  that  he  be 
summoned  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not  be  disfran- 
chised. The  baker  continuing  rebellious,  he  was  deprived 
of  the  freedom  in  May,  and  the  bellman  announced  the 
fact  iu  the  streets.    Tawman,  however,  coolly  took  no  notice, 


1739.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  215 

and  went  on  selling  his  bread.  The  Council  next  ordered 
that  the  culprit  should  be  prosecuted  for  obstinately  keeping 
open  his  shop,  and  the  opportunity  was  seized  to  make  a  raid 
on  all  "foreigners"  carrying  on  business  in  the  city.  As  non- 
freemen  were  wholly  defenceless,  many  of  those  threatened 
paid  fines  for  admission  to  the  freedom.  Tawman  and  the 
rest  were  doubtless  expelled. 

The  minutes  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  record,  under  the 
6th  January,  1739,  that  the  capitular  body  had  that  day 
sealed  a  lease  to  the  "  Mayor  or  Burgesses  and  Commonalty" 
of  Bristol  for  liberty  to  make  a  way  or  passage,  nine  feet 
wide,  through  the  croud  or  crypt  of  St.  Nicholas's  church. 
Soon  afterwards,  a  "  faculty,"  authorising  this  strange 
design,  was  issued  by  Carew  Reynell,  chancellor  of  the 
diocese.  This  document,  preserved  in  the  Consistory  Court, 
recites  that  owing  to  the  narrowness  of  St.  Nicholas's  Gate 
and  the  increase  of  carriages  and  carts,  traffic  was  frequently 
interrupted,  and  foot  passengers  could  not  proceed  without 
peril  of  their  lives,  to  the  great  impediment  of  trade.  The 
Corporation  having  obtained  permission  to  make  a  passage 
through  the  croud,  the  chancellor  granted  this  faculty, 
enabling  the  civic  body  to  open  out  the  proposed  footway. 
Strange  to  say,  although  a  yearly  way-leave  of  £6  had  been 
promised  to  the  vestry  of  St.  Nicholas  by  the  civic  body, 
the  minutes  of  the  Council  contain  no  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  the  footway  was  never  constructed. 

The  exasperation  of  the  English  merchants  at  their  losses 
in  carrying  on  a  vast  illicit  trade  with  the  Spanish  American 
colonies  has  been  already  noticed.  As  they  persisted  in  pur- 
suing that  trade,  while  the  Spanish  Government  was  equally 
obstinate  in  maintaining  its  monopoly,  British  ships  were 
frequently  captured,  and  Walpole's  policy  of  peace  became 
gradually  unpopular.  In  1788  the  nation  was  roused  to 
madness  by  a  ship  captain  named  Jenkins  detailing  to  the 
House  of  Commons  his  alleged  sufferings  at  the  hands  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  producing  one  of  his  ears,  which  he  said 
they  had  cut  off  with  taunts  at  the  English  king.  (Jenkins 
seems  to  have  been  a  knave ;  Alderman  Beckford  afterwards 
assured  Lord  Shelbume  that  if  the  House  had  caused  the 
fellow's  wig  to  be  removed  they  would  have  found  his  ears  as 
whole  as  their  own;  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  add  that  Mr. 
Nicholls'  assertion  that  the  man  was  a  Bristolian  is  erro- 
neous.) Cases  of  alleged  ill-treatment  continued  to  pour 
in.  Amongst  the  Newcastle  MSS.  is  a  letter  to  tlie  Duke 
signed  by  R.  Farr,  Thomas  Roach,  and  two  other  Bristol 


21(3  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1730. 

merchants,  dated  January,  1739,  complaining  "  of  a  flagrant 
instance  of  cruelty  and  injustice''  offered  to  British  subjects 
by  the    Spaniards,   and    trusting    that   effectual  measures 
would  be  taken   for  relieving  the  sufferers  and  obtaining 
compensation  for  the  writers'  loss.     It  appears  from  an  en- 
closed document  that  the  Bristol  ship  Sarah,  whilst  on  a 
voyage  home,  was  stopped  and  searched  by  a  Spanish  man 
of  war,  which,  finding  ^*  one  stick  of  logwood  "  (smuggled 
goods)  on  board,  made  prize  of  the  vessel,  carried  her  into 
Havanna   *'  ignominiously,    with  the   Union   Jack    turned 
downwards,"  sold  the  cargo  for  one-tenth  of  its  value,  set  the 
crew  adrift,    appropriated  l,8iX)  pieces-of-eight,   which  the 
captain  had  hid  in  a  cask,  and  then  sent  him  to  prison, 
where  he  still  remained.     The  ship  and  cargo  were  valued 
at  £9,00().     The  Ministry  replied  to  complaints  of  this  kind 
by  pointing  out  that  the  English  laws  against  smuggling 
were  as  harsh  as  those  of  Spain,  but  the  plea,  though  true, 
did  not  mitigate  mercantile  discontent.     The  Cabinet  nego- 
tiated a  convention  with  the  Court  of  Madrid  with  a  view 
to  obviating  disputes ;  but  the  English  shipowners  denounced 
the  arrangement  as  a  sacrifice  of  British  rights,  and  peti- 
tions against  it  having  been  forwarded  to  Parliament  from 
Bristol  and  other  leading  ports,  Walpole's  opponents,  taking 
advantage  of  the  general  clamour,  joined  in  a  violent  attack 
on  the  policy  of  peace.     After  a  vain  struggle,  Walpole  sub- 
mitted  to  the  popular   will,  and  war    was  proclaimed  in 
Bristol  on  the  29th  October  amidst  demonstrations  of  joy. 
Preparations  for  the  struggle  had  been  going  on  for  some 
time.     The  London  Weekly  Journal  of  August  4th  contained 
intelligence  that,  in  pursuance  of  orders  from  the  Govern- 
ment to  impress  landsmen  as  well  as  seamen  for  the  king's 
service,  the  magistrates  of  Bristol  had  remained  sitting  at 
the  Council  House  until  between  two  and  three  o'clock  on 
Sunday  morning,  whilst  the  constables  were  scouring  the 
city  and  throwing  their  captures  into   Bridewell ;  similar 
scenes  being  repeated  on  the  two  following  nights.     Per- 
mission having  been  granted  to  fit  out  privateers,  a  corres- 
pondent of    the   London   Country  Journal  stated  that  the 
breast   of  almost   every  Bristol   citizen    "  was    fired    with 
martial  ardour   and  an  ambition  of  plucking  off  as  many 
Spanish  ears  as  would  serve  to  nail  on  every  gate  throughout 
Great  Britain."     A  few  weeks  later  the  Gloucester  Journal 
announced  that    ^*  some  eminent    merchants  of  Bristol  had 
subscribed  £5,()00  for  the  glorious  purpose  of  fitting  out 
privateers  to  go  upon  an  expedition  in  quest  of  the  Spanish 


1739.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  217 

villains  who  iasulted  and  robbed  British  subjects,  and  especi- 
ally those  belonging  to  the  port.  It  was  expected  that 
£6,000  more  would  be  raised  at  the  next  meeting.'*  A 
number  of  such  vessels,  in  fact,  were  sent  to  sea  in  the 
following  year,  one  of  which,  the  Vernon,  captured  a  prize 
valupd  at  £18,000. 

A  craving  for  news,  excited  b}'  the  war,  led  to  curious 
innovations  in  the  Council  House.  The  members  of  the 
Corporation  had  hitherto  sought  for  intelligence  of  public 
events  at  the  coffee  houses  ;  but  it  was  now  determined 
to  subscribe  for  two  of  the  London  daily  newspapers  for  the 
use  of  the  civic  body,  who  lost  no  time  in  converting  the 
municipal  building  into  a  sort  of  free  club  house.  The 
arrangement  soon  became  very  popular  amongst  the  alder- 
men and  councillors,  and  almost  daily  charges  are  recorded 
for  bread,  oysters,  cheese,  wine,  ale,  porter,  cider  and  tobacco, 
consumed  by  them  at  the  expense  of  the  city.  In  the 
quarter  ending  June,  1742,  the  items  include  1B2  bottles  of 
wine,  4:1b.  tobacco,  288  pipes,  and  lib.  of  "  smoaking  candles," 
with  a  great  quantity  of  ale  and  cider.  Another  daily 
newspaper  and  the  Ijyndon  Gazette  were  shortly  afterwards 
ordered,  and  the  items  for  "  refreshments "  became  larger 
than  ever.  The  system  gave  rise  to  abuses  that  brought 
about  its  suppression.  On  the  return  of  peace  the  news- 
papers were  discontinued. 

The  watching  and  lighting  arrangements  of  the  city 
being  much  complained  of,  the  justices  requested  the 
parochial  waywardens  to  report  on  the  number  of  lights 
and  lamps  in  each  district.  No  return  was  made  for  the 
parishes  of  St.  Nicholas  and  Redcliff,  or  for  Castle  Precincts. 
In  St.  James's  and  St.  Michael's  it  was  stated  that  there 
were  few  lights  (lanthorns)  and  no  lamps  at  all.  In  the  rest 
of  the  city,  including  the  out-parish  of  St.  Philip's,  the  total 
number  of  glimmering  oil  lamps  was  128.  Three  of  the 
central  parishes  had  four  each,  and  the  populous  district  of 
Temple  only  six.  On  the  10th  February,  1739,  the  Council 
adopted  a  petition  to  Parliament  praying  for  further  powers. 
The  document  alleged  that  in  several  parishes  the  number 
of  persons  paying  2d.  weekly  in  poor  rate  (who  alone  were 
liable  to  the  lighting  rate)  was  so  small  that  an  adequate 
number  of  lamps  could  not  be  maintained,  while  the  nightly 
watch  was  equally  defective.  The  Chamber  desired  to  take 
the  two  matters  into  its  own  hands,  and  to  be  enabled  to 
levy  a  general  rate  to  meet  the  future  outlay.  It  also  sought 
for  power  to  make  regulations  for  paving  and  cleansing  the 


218  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1739. 

Streets,  and  for  preventing  the  erection  of  houses  with 
wooden  fronts  and  over-hanging  storeys.  The  design,  how- 
ever, became  known  to  the  inhabitants,  and  excited  so  many 
threats  of  resistance  that  the  Bill  was  summarily  droppea. 
The  measure  was  again  proposed  in  1740,  with  a  similar 
result. 

Mr.  John  Elbridge,  whose  zeal  and  munificence  in  pro- 
moting the  establishment  of  the  Infirmary  have  been  already 
noticed,  died  on  the  22nd  February,  1739,  at  Cote  House, 
Durdham  Down,  a  mansion  which  he  had  erected.  Descended 
from  the  Bristol  family  of  the  Aid  worths,  from  whom  he 
inherited  a  large  estate,  Elbridge  obtained  the  deputy  comp- 
trollership  of  the  Custom-house  in  the  reign  of  William  III., 
and  held  it  for  many  years.  During  his  residence  in  the 
Royal  Fort  he  erected  a  school  house  on  part  of  the  garden, 
adjoining  St.  Michael's  Hill,  and  bequeathed  £3,000  to 
trustees  for  the  clothing  and  education  therein  of  twenty- 
four  girls. 

After  another  long  slumber,  the  Corporation,  urged  by  the 
practical  and  energetic  recorder,  again  took  up  the  question  of 
the  proposed  Exchange.  In  May  a  committee  reported  that 
the  most  convenient  site  for  the  building,  and  also  for  the 
proposed  market-house,  was  the  area  stretching  from  All 
Saints'  Lane  to  Cock  Lane  in  Corn  Street,  and  extending 
backwards  to  Nicholas  Street.  The  proposal  was  adopted, 
and  the  committee  were  empowered  to  purchase  such 
additional  property  as  might  be  required.  (The  project  is 
said  to  have  been  condemned  by  the  citizens  generally  as 
too  costly  to  be  practicable.)  Amongst  the  payments  soon 
after  made  on  this  account  was  "  The  feoffees  of  All  Saints 
for  the  Old  Maids'  Alms-house,  £420 ; "  but  Mr.  Nicholls' 
statement  that  this  building  occupied  the  whole  site  of  the 
present  Exchange  is  absurdly  incorrect.  A  new  almshouse 
was  built  by  the  trustees  in  1741,  in  St.  John's  Lane. 

Much  dismay  was  created  in  the  municipal  body  in  May, 
1739,  by  the  discovery  that  the  chamberlain,  Mr.  Holledge, 
had  not  accounted  for  several  thousand  pounds  of  the  money 
entrusted  to  him.  He  was,  however,  possessed  of  valuable 
property  in  Prince's  Street  and  elsewhere,  and  the  loss  was 
reduced  by  its  sale  to  £2,400.  His  sureties  were  answer- 
able for  the  remainder,  but  they  pleaded  inability  tx)  pay, 
and  only  jtoOO  appear  to  have  been  obtained  from  one  of 
them,  Richard  Hart.  Holledge,  who  had  been  mayor  in 
1708-9,  petitioned  the  Council  for  relief  in  September,  alleg- 
ing that  he  had  been  ruined  by  his  son's  recklessness,  and 


1739.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  219 

other  misfortunes.  The  Chamber  granted  him  an  annuity 
of  4:60.  Upon  his  death,  in  1742,  his  widow  obtained  a 
pension  of  j£26 ;  in  1761  one  of  his  daughters  was  granted 
an  annuity  of  the  same  amount;  and  in  1769  another 
daughter  was  voted  jElB  a  year  for  life. 

The  old  difficulty  of  inducing  prominent  citizens  to  enter 
the  Corporation  revived  about  this  date.  John  Tyndall  and 
David  Dehany  had  been  elected  councillors,  but  both  refused 
to  accept  the  office,  and  actions  at  law  were  commenced  to 
recover  the  penalties.  Dehany  soon  after  surrendered,  and, 
after  paying  the  fine  of  £200,  was  re-elected,  and  the  money 
refunded.  After  a  further  struggle,  Tyndall  adopted  the 
same  course ;  but  he  soon  wearied  of  his  new  dignity,  and 
relieved  himself  of  it  in  1741  by  paying  the  penalt3-of  £200. 

The  combination  in  the  same  trading  company  of  educated 
and  prosperous  surgeons  with  humble  barbers  and  wig- 
makers  was  a  medieval  anomaly  certain  to  become  mutually 
disagreeable  as  society  progressed.  In  May,  1739,  a  number 
of  peruke  makers  and  barbers,  freemen  of  the  Barbers*  Com- 
pany, presented  a  petition  to  the  Council,  complaining  of 
*'  diverse  impositions  and  grievances "  inflicted  by  their 
surgical  brethren.  A  petition  of  the  masters  and  wardens  of 
the  company  was  also  produced,  in  which  surprise  was 
expressed  that  some  "  uneasie  members ''  should  importune 
the  Chamber  with  unfounded  discontents.  The  documents 
were  referred  to  a  committee,  and  were  heard  of  no  more. 
In  later  years  many  surgeons  refused  to  become  members  of 
the  company,  which  gradually  died  out.  Its  hall  was  in  or 
near  Shannon  Court. 

The  London  Weekly  Journal  of  July  21st,  1739,  contains  a 
brief  paragraph  illustrative  of  the  effects  of  the  Methodist 
crusade  in  Kingswood.  The  astonished  writer  states  that  a 
sheriff's  officer  with  two  assistants  had  ventured  into  that 
barbarous  district,  and  had  even  levied  an  execution  upon 
the  chattels  of  an  inhabitant,  **  without  meeting  with  the 
least  obstruction.  No  officer  within  the  memory  of  the 
oldest  man  living  has  been  able  to  effect  an  undertaking  of 
this  nature  in  so  peaceable  a  manner." 

About  the  end  of  July,  1739,  Richard  Savage,  a  poet  of 
some  genius,  but  whose  extraordinary  career  as  narrated  by 
his  friend  Dr.  Johnson  has  secured  for  the  man  an  unde- 
served rank  in  English  literature,  was  induced  by  Pope  and 
other  well  wishers  to  remove  from  London,  where  his  health 
had  been  shattered  by  alternate  plunges  into  debauchery 
and  misery,  and  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Wales,  where  tliey 


220  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1739. 

undertook  to  provide  him  with  the  then  sufficient  yearly  in- 
come of  £60  for  life.    He  set  off  provided  with  fifteen  guineas 
for  travelling  expenses,  but  the  money  carried  him  only  a 
few  miles,  and  another  remittance  was  needed  to  enable 
him  to  reach  Bristol.     Here,  as  he  alleged,  he  found  an  em- 
bargo laid  upon  shipping,  and  was  compelled  to  remain  for 
some  time  ;  but  as  the  Welsh  mail  by  the  New  Passage  was 
never  interrupted,  the  pretext  alleged  for  delay  was  merely 
one  of  Savage's  habitual  shifts.     The  truth  is  that  the  poet, 
to  use  Johnson's  words,  "  ingratiated  himself  with  many  of 
the  principal  merchants,  was  invited  to  their  houses,  distin- 
guished at  their  public  feasts,  and  treated  with  a  regard 
that  gratified  his  vanity."     At  last  he  sailed  for  Swansea, 
where  he  remained  a  year,  eking  out  his  income  by  a  trick 
not  then  uncommon — soliciting  subscriptions  in  cash  for  a 
new  edition  of  his  works  which  he  made  no  effort  to  pro- 
duce.    In  the  meantime,  having  offended  many  of  his  Lon- 
don friends  by  insolent  importunities,  they  withdrew  their 
support,   and,   after  denouncing   their   inhumanity,   he  re- 
solved to  return  to  England.     On  reappearing  in  Bristol,  says 
Johnson,  "  a  repetition  of  the  kindness  which  he  had  for- 
merly found  invited  him  to  stay.     He  was  not  only  caressed 
and  treated,  but  had  a  collection  made  for  him  of  about 
£30."     To  offer  help  to  Savage,  however,  was  only  to  pro- 
voke further  demands  ;  he  asked  for  assistance  as  if  it  were 
legitimately  due  to  him ;  and  instead  of  being  grateful  for 
what  was  offered,  he  became  insulting  when  further  impor- 
tunities were  unsuccessful.     The  hospitality  he  continued 
to  meet  with  was  recklessly  abused.     He  could  not  brook 
the  trammel  of  stated  hours ;  he  treated  all  family  regu- 
lations with  scorn ;    and  could  neither  be  induced  to  retire 
to  bed  at  night  nor  to  leave  it  next  day  for  dinner.     As 
was  natural,  every  door  gradually  closed  upon  him,  and  he 
was  driven,  with  empty  pockets,  to  seek  for  sustenance  at 
the   taverns.     The   debts   incurred   in   this  way  becoming 
troublesome,  he  took  refuge  in  the  garret  of  an  obscure  inn, 
from  which  he  sallied  by  night  to  beg  from  his  former  ad- 
mirers.    At  this  crisis  a  remittance  of  £5  arrived  from  Lon- 
don, to  enable  him  to  return,  but  the  money  was  forthwith 
squandered  in  a  debauch.     Help  and  shelter  were  never- 
theless still  extended  to  him  by  a  surviving  friend,  in  de- 
spite of  his  perverse  habits.    At  length,  on  the  16th  January, 
1743,  he  was  lodged  in  Newgate  for  nonpayment  of  a  debt 
of  £8,  due  to  a  coffee-house   keeper,  and  was   treated,  as 
Johnson  admits,  with  great  humanity  by  Mr.  Dagg,   the 


1739.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUKY.  221 

gaoler,  who  provided  him  with  food,  and  even  accompanied 
him  in  country  walks.  Some  Bristolians  suggested  a  sub- 
scription to  pay  his  debts,  but  as  he  was  to  reap  no  personal 
gain  by  the  operation,  "  he  treated,"  to  use  his  own  expres- 
sion, "  the  proposal  with  disdain."  The  occasional  gifts 
sent  to  the  prison  were  accepted  in  the  poet's  characteristic 
fashion.  He  took  the  money  and  impudently  asked  for 
more ;  and,  as  he  deemed  the  response  illiberal,  he  snatched 
up  a  pen  to  revile  his  benefactors.  While  engaged  in  this 
congenial  task,  he  was  smitten  with  fever— never  long  ab- 
sent from  the  unhealthy  prisons  of  the  age — and  died  on 
the  1st  August,  1743.  He  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's  church- 
yard, about  six  feet  from  the  entrance  to  the  south  porch,  at 
the  expense  of  Mr.  Dagg.  The  vigour  of  Dr.  Johnson's 
sympathetic  memoir  long  protected  Savage's  greediness, 
dissipation,  and  ferocity  from  general  discredit.  Since  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Moy  Thomas's  researches,  there  has  been 
practically  no  question  that  the  poet's  account  of  his  noble 
birth  and  subsequent  persecution  by  a  cruel  mother  was  as 
gross  an  imposture  as  the  story  concocted  in  our  own  time 
by  the  Tichborne  claimant.  A  few  lines  of  the  unfinished 
satire  on  Bristol,  entitled  "  London  and  Bristol  delineated," 
are  subjoined. 

In  a  dark  bottom  sunk,  O  Bristol  now 

With  native  malice  lift  thy  lowering  brow ! 

*  *  »  *  * 

Prescint  we  mo?t  thy  snoakiug,  tr^jacherous  smiles ; 

The  harmh'sa  absent  still  thy  sneer  reviles, 

Such  as  in  theo  all  parts  sup'^rior  find, 

The  sneer  that  makes  the  fool  and  knave  combined ; 

When  melting  pity  would  afTord  relief, 

The  ruthless  sneer  that  insult  ad<ls  to  grief. 

What  friendship  canst  thou  boast?  what  honours  claim  ? 

To  theo  each  stranger  adds  an  injured  name. 

What  smiles  thy  sons  must  in  their  foes  excite! 

Thy  sons,  to  whom  all  discord  is  delight ; 

Thy  sons,  though  crafty,  deaf  to  wis<lom's  cull. 

Despising  all  men  and  despised  by  all ; 

Sons,  while  thy  cliffs  a  ditch-like  river  laves, 

Rude  as  thy  rocks,  and  muddy  as  thy  waves. 

Of  thoughts  as  narrow  as  of  words  immense, 

As  full  of  turbulence  as  void  of  sense. 

•F  V  V  ^  ^ 

B:)ast  swarming  vessels,  whos3  ph'beian  state, 
Owns  not  to  merchants  but  mechanics  fi-eight. 
Boast  nought  b'lt  jw^dlars'  tieets     .     .     . 
B3ast  thy  base  Tolsiy,  and  thy  turn-spit  dogs, 
Tliy  haliiers'  horses,  and  thy  human  hogs. 
Ujjstarts  and  mushrooms,  proud,  relentless  hearts. 
Thou  blank  of  sciences,  thou  dearth  of  arts. 
Such  foes  as  learning  once  was  doomed  to  s.'e, 
Huns,  Goths,  and  Vandals,  were  but  types  of  thte. 


222  THE   AXXALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1739. 

In  November,  1739,  another  and  more  celebrated  poet, 
Alexander  Pope,  paid  a  visit  to  the  Hot  Well  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drinking  the  water.  In  two  letters  to  Martha  Blount 
he  gives  a  description  of  Bristol  which^  amidst  some  amus- 
ing fockneyisms,  is  not  without  vivid  touches.  After 
describing  the  journey  from  Bath,  Pope  states  that  the  first 
view  of  Bristol  presented  him  with  "  twenty  odd  pyramids 
smoking  over  the  town  (which  are  glasshouses)."  Then 
"you  come  first  to  old  walls  [Temple  Gate],  and  over  a 
bridge  built  on  both  sides  like  London  bridge,  and  as  much 
crowded,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  seamen,  women,  chil- 
dren, loaded  horses,  asses,  and  sledges  with  goods,  dragging 
along  altogether,  without  posts  to  separate  them.  From 
thence  you  come  to  a  key  along  the  old  wall,  with  houses 
on  both  sides,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  street  as  far  as  you 
can  see,  hundreds  of  ships,  their  masts  as  thick  as  they  can 
stand  by  one  another,  which  is  the  oddest  and  most  surpris- 
ing sight  imaginable.  This  street  is  fuller  of  them  than 
the  Thames  irom  London  bridge  to  Deptford.''  When  the 
tide  was  out,  the  ships  grounded,  and  then  "  a  long  street 
full  of  ships  in  the  middle,  with  houses  on  each  side,  looks 
like  a  dream."  The  picturesque  road  to  the  Hot  Well  is 
next  described.  "  Passing  still  along  by  the  river,  you  come 
to  a  rocky  way  on  one  side,  overlooking  green  hills  on  the 
other;  on  that  rocky  way  rise  several  white  houses,  and 
over  them  red  rocks,  and  as  you  go  further  more  rocks 
above  rocks,  mixed  with  green  bushes  and  of  different 
coloured  stone.  This  at  a  mile's  end  terminates  in  the  house 
of  the  Hot  Well."  Here  the  wondering  writer  found 
"  several  pretty  lodging  houses,  open  to  the  river,  with  walls 
of  trees.  When  you  have  seen  the  hills  which  seem  to  shut 
in  upon  you,  and  to  stop  any  further  way,  you  go  into  the 
house  [pumjvroom],  and  looking  out  at  the  back-door  a  vast 
rock  of  an  hundred  feet  of  red,  white,  green,  blue  and  yel- 
lowish marble,  all  blotched  and  variegated,  strikes  you  quite 
in  the  face ;  and  turning  on  the  left  there  opens  the  river 
at  a  vast  depth  below,  winding  in  and  out,  and  accompanied 
on  both  sides  with  a  continued  range  of  rocks  up  into  the 
clouds,  of  a  hundred  colours,  one  beliiiid  another  .  .  .  very 
much  like  the  broken  scenes  in  a  play-house  (!)  Upon  the 
top  of  those  high  rocks  there  runs  a  large  down  of  fine  turf 
for  about  three  miles.  It  looks  too  frightful  to  approach 
the  brink,  and  look  down  upon  the  river.  .  .  .  There  is 
a  little  village  upon  this  down  called  Clifton,  where  are  very 
pretty  lodging  houses,  and  steep  cliffs  and  very  green  val- 


1739.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  223 

leys.  ...  I  am  told  that  one  may  ride  ten  miles  further 
on  an  even  tnrf,  on  a  ridge  that  on  one  side  views  the  river 
Severn."  Turning  to  Bristol  again,  Pope  writes: — "The 
city  itself  is  very  unpleasant,  and  no  civilised  company  in 
it :  only  the  collector  of  the  customs  would  have  brought 
me  acquainted  with  merchants,  of  whom  I  hear  no  great 
character.  The  streets  are  as  crowded  as  London  ;  but  the 
best  image  I  can  give  you  of  it  is,  'tis  as  if  Wapping  and 
South wark  were  ten  times  as  big,  or  all  their  people  ran  into 
London.  Nothing  is  fine  in  it  but  the  square,  which  is 
larger  than  Grosvenor  Square,  and  well  builded  .  .  .  and 
the  key,  which  is  full  of  ships,  and  goes  half-way  round  the 
square.  The  College  Green  is  prett}'^,  and  (like  the  square) 
is  set  with  trees,  with  a  very  fine  old  cross  of  Gothic  curious 
work  in  the  middle,  but  spoiled  with  the  folly  of  new  gild- 
ing it,  that  takes  away  all  the  venerable  antiquity."  The 
S)et  thinks  of  returning  to  Bath,  and  of  drinking  there  the 
ath  and  Bristol  waters  mixed.  **  Not  but  that  I  am  satisfied 
the  water  at  the  Well  is  very  different  from  what  it  is  any- 
where else ;  for  it  is  full  as  warm  as  new  milk  from  the  cow ; 
but  there  is  no  living  at  the  Wells  without  more  conveni- 
ences in  the  winter."  From  a  letter  written  by  Martha 
Blount,  addressed  "  To  be  left  with  Mr.  Pyne,  the  post- 
master, Bristol,"  and  bearing  internal  evidence  as  to  its 
date,  it  is  certain  that  Pope  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  Hot 
Well  in  1743.  It  must  have  been  on  this  occasion  that,  as 
an  aged  citizen  informed  Mr.  Seyer,  the  poet  once  attended 
service  at  Redland  Chapel  (Seyer  MSS.). 

The  Gloucester  Journal  of  August  29th,  1739,  reports  "  an 
outrage  against  immemorial  custom  which  had  excited  great 
resentment  "  in  Bristol.  A  few  days  before  the  opening  of 
the  assizes,  a  regiment  of  infantry  was  marched  into  the 
city,  and,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  mayor,  the  troops 
continued  in  quarters  after  the  commission  was  opened. 
The  judge  (Aland)  summoned  the  commanding  officer  be- 
fore him,  and  demanded  the  removal  of  the  soldiery,  but  it 
was  not  until  his  lordship  threatened  to  despatch  a  mes- 
senger to  the  Government  that  his  order  was  complied 
with. 

A  civil  action  was  tried  at  the  above  assizes  between  a 
baker  and  a  butcher,  both  of  Lawford's  Gate,  the  former 
claiming  £30  as  won  during  a  single  sitting  at  "  the  favour- 
ite game  of  Hussle  Cap."  He  obtained  a  verdict,  with  40/f. 
damages. 

The  prevalence  of  superstition  amongst  the  wealthier  class 


224  THE    ANNALS    OF    BKISTOL  [1739. 

of  the  city  is  illustrated  by  a  Bristol  paragraph  in  the  Lon- 
don Weekly  Miscellany  of  September  1st,  stating  that  only 
one  prisoner  received  sentence  of  death  at  the  local  gaol 
delivery  just  conchided,  "  namely  Halley  Price,  convicted  of 
stealing  (under  the  guise  of  a  fortune  teller)  twenty  guineas. 
This  is  the  creature  who  stole  (under  the  same  delusion)  a 
gold  chain  and  several  gold  rings  from  a  creditable  inhabi- 
tant of  this  city  lately."  Price  escaped  the  gallows.  When 
the  victims  of  the  fortune  tellers  were  of  low  degree  the 
knaves  got  off  lightly.  The  Bristol  Journal,  of  September 
15th,  1752,  states  that  six  of  those  impostors  had  just  b.-^en 
*'  handsomely  '*  whipped  at  the  whipping  post,  outside 
Lawford's  Gate. 

Banking  in  provincial  towns  being  still  in  its  infancy,  the 
Corporation  of  Bristol  was  sometimes  much  inconvenienced 
in  remitting  Sir  Thomas  Whitens  j^early  gift  of  £104  to  the 
distant  civic  bodies  which  were,  as  they  still  are,  entitled  to 
it  in  rotation.  The  case  of  Cambridge,  in  1739,  indicates  how 
the  matter  was  arranged.  The  corporation  in  question  sent 
an  acquittance  and  a  power  of  attorney  to  one  Samuel  Her- 
ring, *'  woollen  draper,  at  the  Artichoke,  Lombard  Street, 
London."  The  Bristol  authorities  on  their  side  handed  the 
money  to  John  Vaughan,  a  local  goldsmith,  whose  agents, 
Spindler  and  Co.,  of  Gutter  Lane,  were  ordered  to  pay  the 
money  to  Herring.  The  chamberlain,  in  acquainting  the 
latter  where  the  money  was  lying,  writes: — **  Bills  are  very 
scarce  w^ith  us.  I  was  obliged  to  pay  i  per  cent,  for  nego- 
tiating this  affair.'^ 

Mr.  Thomas  Coster,  M.P.,  of  College  Green,  died  on  tlie 
30th  September,  to  the  great  regret  of  his  friends.  A  con- 
temporary notemaker  recorded  that  the  great  bell  of  every 
parish  church  in  the  city  tolled  an  entire  day  by  order  of 
the  family.  An  election  to  fill  the  vacant  seat  commenced 
in  the  following  November.  The  candidates  were  Mr. 
Edward  Southwell,  of  Kingsweston,  nominated  by  the  Tory 
party,  and  Mr.  Henry  Combe,  merchant,  a  Whig.  (Mr. 
Serjeant  Foster,  the  recorder,  also  offered  himself,  but  retired 
in  favour  of  Mr.  Combe.)  The  Gloucester  Journal  of  No- 
vember 27th  says  :—"  The  Hon.  Mr.  Southwell  has  kept  open 
house  at  Shirehampton  ever  since  he  has  declared.  There 
are  constantly  employed  a  baker,  a  butcher,  and  two  brewers 
to  provide  for  the  reception  of  all  comers  and  goers."  The 
singular  coalition  of  Jacobites,  Tories,  and  "  Patriots  "  then 
raging  against  Walpole  in  the  House  of  Commons  was  not 
without  influence  in  the  provinces,  and  Mr.  Combe's  sup- 


-1.739.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  225 

•  .  -  •  »  •  ^^^ 

port  of  the  Excise  scheme  told  heavily  against  him.  The 
contest  closed  on  the  12th  December,  when  Mr.  Southwell 
•tad  polled  2,651  votes,  and  Mr.  Combe  2,203.  In  singular 
-contrast  to  a  modern  election,  only  about  one  twenty-fifth 
'  part  of  the  voters  refrained  from  polling,  the  total  number 
of  abstentions  being  214.  Only  thirty-seven  electors  resided 
in  Clifton.  The  Tory  party  rejoiced  greatly  over  their  suc- 
cess, and  a  local  poet  produced  an  enthusiastic  ode,  com- 


mencing : — 


O  glorious  victory,  divine  defeat ! 

Hail  mighty  Southwell,  eminentJy  great ! 


Various  improvements  were  resolved  upon  by  the  Council 
during  the  closing  months  of  1739.     The  ascent  in  High 
Street  being  very  abrupt,  some  alteriation  was  made  in  the 
gradient  at  a  cost  of  about  £160.     The  scheme  for  making 
a  footpath  through  St.  Nicholas's  crypt  having  been  aban- 
doned, it  was  determined  to  remove  two  houses  on  the  east 
side  of  St.  Nicholas's  Gate,  so  as  to  make  a  footway  from 
High  Street  to  the  Bridge,  thus  protecting  pedestrians  from 
the  peril  of  struggling  through  the  always  crowded  gate. 
Works  were  ordered  at  Bridewell  for  the  purpose  of  making 
the  prison  more  secure,  and  for  enlarging  it  by  the  incor- 
poration of  Whitehall.     The  provisions  against  fires  being 
-  again  found  insufficient,  a  new  fire  engine  was  purchased  at 
a  cost  of  £61.     Finally,  the  mayor  having  stated  that  there 
was  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  the  Council  House,  the 
lower  windows  of  which  were  unprotected,  a  motion  was 
made  that  substantial  shutters   should  be  provided.     The 
civic  scribe  omits  to  note  the  result.     The  following  winter 
.  was  one  of  great  severity,  and  owing  to  the  suflFerings  of  the 
poor  the  Chamber  voted  £200  for  their  relief ;  while  twelve 
starving  insolvents  were  liberated  from  Newgate,  their  credi- 
tors consenting  to  accept  Gs,  8d.  in  the  pound  on  their  debts, 
which  on  the  average  amounted  to  only  £6  each. 

One  of  the  most  curious  items  in  the  civic  account  books  of 
this  period  is  as  follows  : — "  Oct.  16.  Entertaining  Captain 
Eais  Condela,  Admiral  of  Salle,  £39  lis.  3d,''  This  is  fol- 
lowed  by : — "  Paid  to  his  passage  to  Milford,  bs,  A  sack  for 
him,  bs.''  The  mystery  hanging  over  those  items  has  been 
cleared  up  by  the  discovery  of  the  detailed  accounts,  the 
innkeeper's  bill  describing  the  visitor  as  the  **  Embaseter  of 
Murroker."  The  Admiral  being  a  Mahometan,  and  con- 
sequently an  abstainer  from  intoxicating  liquors,  the  civic 
dignitaries  were  unable  to  entertain  him  in  a  manner  con- 
genial with  their  own  tastes.     They  however  appreciated  Lis 

Q 


226  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1739-40. 

own,  by  presenting  him  with  a  handsome  scarlet  cloak  fringed 
with  gold,  and  other  apparel,  including  shirts  and  ''Morocco 
pumps,''  conducted  him  to  the  Hot  Well  and  Sea  Mills  dock, 
paid  for  his  modest  entertainment  at  an  inn,  at  the  rate  of 
7,s*.  Gd.  per  day,  and  defrayed  his  passage  from  Milford  to 
Bristol  (B«.),  and  from  Bristol  to  London  (three  guineas.)  A 
treaty  of  commerce  with  Morocco,  by  which  British  ships 
were  protected  from  the  raids  of  "  Sallee  rovers,"  was  con- 
cluded soon  afterwards. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  February,  1740,  the  mayor 
explained  to  the  House  the  cause  of  a  grave  infraction  of 
ancient  customs.  It  was  the  time-honoured  duty  of  one 
of  the  sheriflFs  to  give  a  dinner  to  the  Coiporation  soon 
after  his  appointment,  and  Mr.  Dehany  had  intended  to 
comply  with  the  usage,  but  owing  to  the  bustle  caused  by 
the  election  and  the  severity  of  the  weather  he  had  been 
prevented  from  doing  so  "  m  so  handsome  a  manner  as 
the  nature  of  the  thing  required."  He  therefore  proposed 
that,  in  lieu  of  the  dinner,  he  should  give  ICO  guineas  to 
the  Corporation,  to  be  distributed  amongst  the  poor.  The 
Chamber,  after  passing  a  solemn  resolution  that  this  pro- 
ceeding was  not  "  to  be  drawn  into  a  president,"  accepted 
the  money. 

The  Exchange  scheme  was  now  making  substantial  pro- 
gress. At  the  Council  meeting  in  March  a  committee  re- 
ported extensive  purchases  of  property  with  a  view  to  clearing 
the  site  for  the  Exchange  and  markets,  and  for  opening 
approaches.  The  total  amounted  to  £19,343.  As  showing 
the  intricate  net  of  lanes  and  alleys  swept  away  by  the  im- 
provement, it  may  be  stated  that  one  of  the  new  purchases 
comprised  certain  "premises  in  King's  Head  Court  and 
Thorough  Lane,  in  or  near  Foster  Lane,  otherwise  St. 
Martin's  Lane,"  in  St.  Nicholas'  parish.  The  vendors  were 
the  right  honourable  Giles  Earfe,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury,  and  William  Earle  Benson,  son  and  great  grand- 
son of  Sir  Thomas  Earle.  A  large  portion  of  the  site  having 
been  cleared,  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Exchange  was 
laid  by  the  mayor  on  the  10th  March,  1741,  amidst  much 
rejoicing,  to  which  a  bountiful  distribution  of  ale  to  the 
populace  may  have  contributed.  A  few  weeks  before  the 
ceremony,  Mr.  John  Wood,  one  of  the  creators  of  modern 
Bath,  had  been  appointed  architect  of  the  new  building, 
which  made  rapid  progress  under  his  supervision. 

Having  just  referred  to  a  local  work  which  was  in  hand 
nearly  thirty  years,  the  opportunity  may  be  taken  to  note 


1740.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  227 

the  deliberation  with  which  a  much  more  important  public 
improvement  was  carried  out.  On  the  9th  August,  1740, 
the  Council  granted  to  Alderman  Nathaniel  Day,  on  pay- 
ment of  £20  a  year,  the  reversion  of  certain  land  near  the 
Boar's  Head  inn,  to  enable  him  to  open  a  street  forty  feet 
wide  in  Bullock's  Park,  "  to  lead  from  College  Green  up  into 
the  road  towards  Jacob's  Well."  The  project  thus  oldly 
described  was  the  first  sketch  of  what  was  to  become  Park 
Street,  but  more  than  twenty  years  elapsed  before  a  house 
was  built,  and  some  sites  remained  vacant  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century. 

The  suburbs  of  the  city  were  infested  about  this  time  by 
a  number  of  ruffians  who  seem  to  have  had  no  qualms  in 
supplementing  robbery  by  murder.  In  April,  1740,  two 
men  were  executed  at  Grloucester  for  two  violent  highway 
crimes  on  Durdham  Down.  In  the  following  July  a  servant 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Knight,  of  Southmead,  Westbury,  was  found, 
nearly  dead,  on  the  Down,  with  twenty  cuts  on  his  skull, 
and  his  pockets  rifled.  **  The  young  man's  horse  was  found 
near  the  gallows."  A  week  or  two  later  two  soldiers,  named 
Millard  and  Masters,  were  charged  with  the  crime  by  a  com- 
rade named  York,  who  confessed  that  he  had  been  their 
companion  in  the  perpetration  of  two  atrocious  robberies  at 
Brislington  and  Bed  minster,  in  a  burglary  in  Wine  Street, 
and  in  stealing  twenty-one  sheep  at  various  times  in  the 
southern  suburbs.  York  was  thereupon  arrested,  and,  at 
the  following  Somerset  assizes,  the  three  men  were  sentenced 
to  death  and  afterwards  hanged,  together  with  a  fourth 
culprit,  convicted  of  a  robbery  at  Brislington.  Millard  and 
York  spent  the  night  previous  to  their  execution  in  "  Bed- 
minster  Bridewell,"  a  prison  maintained  by  the  county  of 
Somerset.  The  former  was  hung  in  chains  on  Bed  minster 
Down,  and  the  latter  on  Brislington  Common,  in  the  presence 
of  thousands  of  spectators.  A  few  days  later  Millard's  father- 
in-law,  a  cobbler  in  Thomas  Street,  strongly  suspected  of 
being  concerned  in  the  above  crimes,  was  executed  in  Bristol 
for  a  shop  robbery. 

Much  trouble  and  expense  being  caused  by  the  influx  of 
paupers  from  Ireland,  the  court  of  quarter  sessions,  in  August, 
1740,  by  virtue  of  an  Act  passed  in  the  spring,  fixed  the 
rates  to  be  paid  to  masters  of  ships  for  the  reconveyance  of 
vagrants  to  their  native  country.  In  this  matter,  at  all 
events,  the  aldermanic  body  studied  economy.  The  amount 
fixed  for  each  adult  was  68.  6d.,  including  food  ;  for  chil- 
dren half  price.    As  the  voyage  frequently  lasted  a  week. 


228  .'.      THE   ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1740-41. 

and  occasionally  a  month,  shipowners  must  have  found  the 
business  far  from  profitable. 

The  minutes  of  Christ  Church  vestry  contain  the  follow- 
ing record,  dated  December  1st,  1740 : — ''  It  was  ordered 
that  Mr.  John  Berrow  do  erect  another  butcher's  standing 
on  the  porter's  walk  adjoining  on  to  this  church."  It  will 
be  shown  at  a  later  date  that,  in  consequence  of  the  excres- 
cences that  had  been  permitted  to  grow  around  the  church, 
the  width  of  Wine  Street  at  this  point  was  only  seventeen 
feet. 

One  of  the  most  audacious  and  oold-blooded  fratricides 
ever  recorded  was  committed  at  Kingroad  on  the  lOth 
January,  1741,  on  Sir  John  Dineley,  Bart.,  by  his  brother, 
Samuel  Good  ere,  captain  of  H.M.S.  Ruby,  then  stationed  in 
the  port.  Sir  John,  who  had  dropped  his  family  name  on 
succeeding  to  a  maternal  estate  in  Worcestershire,  married 
the  grand-daughter  and  heiress  of  Alderman  John  Lawford, 
of  Bristol,  in  whose  right  he  possessed  a  mansion  at  Staple- 
ton  and  another  at  Tockington,  near  Thornbury .  For  many 
years  the  baronet  and  his  brother  had  been  on  unfriendly 
terms,  and  the  former,  whose  conduct  was  described  as 
scarcely  consistent  with  sanity,  took  advantage  of  circum- 
stances that  will  be  hereafter  mentioned  to  cut  off  the  entail 
of  the  family  estates,  with  the  intention  of  leaving  them  to 
two  nephews  named  Foote,  and  thus  impoverishing  the  cap- 
tain, his  heir  presumptive.  The  ill-feeling  of  the  latter  was 
inflamed  by  this  proceeding  to  deadly  hatred,  and  soon  after 
his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  Ruby  (through  the 
suicide  of  the  previous  captain  at  Kingroad,  in  October, 
1740).  he  resolved  on  the  murder  of  his  brother,  and  devised 
a  plan  for  candying  it  out.  Knowing  that  Sir  John  had 
business  relations  with  Mr.  Jarrit  Smith,  a  solicitor,  in  Col- 
lege Green,  the  captain  urged  that  gentleman  to  oiuleavour 
to  bring  about  a  reconciliation,  stating  that  it  might  be 
eflecled  in  an  interview  at  Mr.  Smith's  house.  The  solicitor 
assented,  and  prevailed  upon  Sir  John  to  promise  a  meeting 
on  the  first  day  he  should  visit  Bristol.  Subsequently,  upon 
Mr.  Smith  being  informed  that  the  baronet  would  call  upon 
him  en  the  13th  January,  he  acquainted  the  captain,  who 
lodged  in  Prince's  Street,  of  the  fact :  whereupon  the  latter, 
in  pursuance  of  his  deadly  project,  brought  up  a  number  of 
sailors  from  the  Ruby,  and  hired  some  ruflSans  belonging  to 
the  Vernon  privateer,  giving  them  ordeis  to  seize  Sir  John 
when  he  quitted  Mr.  Smith's.  (The  site  of  his  house  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Royal  Hotel.)     The  baronet,  who  was  then 


1741.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  229 

negotiating  a  mortgage  for  £5,000  with  the  attorney  to  clear 
off  some  of  his  debts,  kept  his  appointment,  but  declined  to 
see  his  brother  until  his  next  visit  to  Bristol,  fixed  for  the 
following  Sunday,  the  19th  January ;  and  as  both  he  and 
his  servant  were  well  mounted  and  armed  with  pistols,  the 
intended  attack  was  postponed.  A  day  or  two  later,  Captain 
Goodere  made  elaborate  preparations  for  the  coming  tragedy. 
Nearly  opposite  to  Mr.  Smith's  residence  stood  the  White 
Hart  alehouse,  which  on  the  first  floor  had  a  room  projecting 
over  the  porch,  affording  an  outlook  over  the  traffic  to  and 
from  the  quays.  Captain  Goodere  having  again  assembled 
his  mercenaries,  directed  them  to  take  up  their  quarters  in 
this  room  on  Sunday  afternoon,  adding  further  instructions 
which  they  faithfully  followed.  The  ambuscade  being  laid, 
the  captain  called  upon  Mr.  Smith  at  the  hour  appointed, 
and  met  his  intended  victim,  whom  he  kissed,  and  then  con- 
gratulated on  his  apparent  better  health.  Mr.  Smith,  pour- 
ing out  a  glass  of  wine,  drank  to  "  love  and  friendship,''  to 
which  Sir  John  responded,  "  With  all  my  heart."  The  cap- 
tain also  drank  to  the  toast,  and  Mr.  Smith  believed  that  the 
reconciliation  was  complete.  After  an  amicable  conversa- 
tion the  party  broke  up,  the  solicitor  accompanying  his 
guests  to  the  door,  whence  he  saw  Sir  John  walk  down  to- 
wards the  quay,  while  the  captain  was  joined  by  several 
sailors  from  the  alehouse,  and  was  heard  to  say,  "Is  he 
ready  ?  "  adding  an  order  to  make  haste.  Mr.  Smith,  sup- 
posing that  the  captain  was  giving  orders  for  returning  to 
Kingroad,  thought  no  more  of  the  matter,  and  closed  his 
door.  Only  a  few  seconds  afterwards,  Mahony,  the  leader  of 
the  captain's  gang,  seized  the  unfortunate  baronet  under  the 
wall  of  the  churchyard,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  others, 
partly  carried  and  partly  dragged  him  along  the  Ropewalk 
towards  the  Ruby's  barge,  which  was  moored  near  Mardyke. 
Captain  Goodere  followed  a  few  steps  behind  his  myrmidons, 
who  were  about  sixteen  in  number,  and  who,  in  reply  to  the 
questions  of  timid  wayfarers,  stated  that  their  prisoner  was 
a  murderer,  about  to  be  tried  on  shipboard.  Acts  of  brutal 
violence  by  press  gangs  were  then  of  constant  occurrence, 
and  this  fact,  joined  to  the  ferocious  ruffianism  of  the  priva- 
teer's men,  who  threatened  to  throw  a  bystander  into  the 
river,  accounts  for  the  apathy  of  the  spectators.  The  cap- 
tive shouted  ^*  Murder.  I  am  Sir  John  Dineley,"  several  times, 
but  his  red  cloak  was  thrown  over  his  head,  and  he  was  soon 
thrust  into  the  barge,  of  which  Captain  Goodere  took  the 
command,  and  which  was  rapidly  rowed  to  Kingroad,  the 


280  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1741. 

captive  protesting  all  the  way  against  the  barbarity  of  his 
treatment.  On  boarding  the  Ruby,  the  captain  told  the  offi- 
cers that  the  prisoner  was  insane,  and  ordered  him  to  be 
placed  in  the  purser's  cabin,  which  had  been  specially 
cleansed  for  his  reception  some  days  before;  a  sentinel  was 
directed  to  keep  guard  over  him ;  and  two  large  bolts  were 
fastened  upon  the  door.  Suspicions  as  to  the  captain's  pur- 
pose were  excited  amongst  the  officers  by  the  repeated  cries 
of  the  unhappy  man,  but  habits  of  discipline  prevented  in- 
terference, and  they  retired  to  rest  at  the  usual  hour.  **  Be- 
tween 2  and  3  o'clock  "  (in  the  morning),  said  Captain  Good- 
ere  in  his  confession,  "  I  ordered  Mahony  to  call  Charles 
White — for  Elisha  Cole,  who  was  intended  to  assist  Mahony 
in  the  murder,  was  dead  drunk— and  to  bring  him  into  my 
cabin.  White  came  presently,  and  I  believe  I  made  him 
drink  a  quart  of  rum  out  of  gill  glasses.  When  he  was  near 
drunk,  I  asked  him  if  he  would  kill  a  Spaniard.  The  poor 
fellow  seemed  surprised,  but  Mahony  and  myself  worked 
him  up  to  a  proper  pitch,  so  that  he  was  ready  enough  to 
assist.  All  the  night  long  Mahony  was  to  and  fro  in  de- 
ceased's cabin,  and  the  sentry  thought  he  was  sent  by  me  to 
assist  Sir  John.  ...  I  gave  him  a  handkerchief  and  a 
piece  of  half-inch  rope  about  ten  foot  long,  bidding  him  and 
While  follow  me.  The  rope  was  to  strangle  him,  and  the 
handkerchief  to  thrust  into  his  mouth  to  stop  his  making  a 
noise.  ...  I  ordered  the  sentry  to  give  me  his  sword, 
and  to  go  up  on  deck,  which  he  did."  Mahony  and  White 
then  went  into  the  cabin  and  finished  their  work,  the  vic- 
tim's cries  of  *'  Murder  "  nevertheless  awakening  several 
persons  in  the  ship.  "  I  stood  at  the  cabin  door,"  added  the 
captain,  "  with  my  sword  drawn,  and  gave  them  the  Ian- 
thorn,  which  hung  up  in  the  cabin  [gunroom],  just  as  they 
had  got  the  rope  about  his  neck.  The  sentry,  seeing  me 
without  a  candle,  brought  one  to  the  cabin  door,  but  I  held 
my  sword  to  his  breast  and  ordered  him  away."  On  the 
murderers  reappearing,  the  captain  went  in  and  felt  his 
brother's  corpse,  observing: — ** 'Tis  done,  and  well  done." 
Thereupon  locking  the  door,  he  took  the  two  miscreants  to 
his  own  cabin,  where  Mahony  gave  him  his  brother's  gold 
watch,  and  received  the  captain's  silver  one  in  return.  The 
gold  found  in  the  dead  man's  pockets,  about  £28,  was  shared 
by  the  assassins,  who  immediately  left  the  ship.  The 
horrible  nature  of  the  crime  soon  after  excited  some  of  the 
petty  officers  to  a  daring  breach  of  discipline.  Early  in  the 
morning,  the  cooper,  who  lay  in  an  adjoining  cabin,  having 


1741.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  231 

related  that  he  had  seen  the  closing  scenes  of  the  tragedy 
through  chinks  in  a  partition,  the  carpenter  broke  in  the 
cabin  door,  when  the  state  of  the  body  left  no  doubt  as  to 
the  crime ;  whereupon  the  cooper,  finding  that  the  lieuten- 
ant was  too  timid  to  take  action,  boldly  arrested  the  captain 
with  the  help  of  eight  or  ten  of  the  crew.  After  an  un- 
accountable delay  on  the  part  of  the  Bristol  magistrates,  the 
water-bailiff  was  sent  down,  and  took  charge  of  the  prisoner. 
The  other  culprits  were  apprehended  in  the  city  by  four 
sailors,  and  with  their  tempter  were  brought  before  the  jus- 
tices, when  Mahony  and  White  made  voluntary  confessions, 
each  throwing  the  guilt  upon  his  companions  in  the  dock. 
Previous  to  the  trial  the  Government  made  an  attempt  to 
remove  the  case  into  the  Admiralty  Court,  alleging  that  the 
city  authorities  had  no  jurisdiction  ;  but  the  recorder  clearly 
demonstrated  that  the  scene  of  the  murder  was  within  the 
boundaries  conceded  to  Bristol  by  ancient  charters.  The 
gaol  delivery  took  place  in  March,  when  Captain  Goodere 
boldly  denied  his  guilt,  alleging  that  his  brother  was  really 
insane,  and  that,  being  heir  to  the  family  estates,  it  would 
have  been  folly  in  him  to  commit  an  act  certain  to  deprive 
him  of  £40,000.  If  his  counsel  had  been  sharp-sighted,  he 
might  have  availed  himself  of  a  more  successful  line  of  de- 
fence. At  that  period,  if  the  slightest  inaccuracy  in  names 
or  descriptions  occurred  in  an  indictment,  the  charge  against 
a  prisoner  w^as  vitiated,  and  he  was  entitled  to  be  discharged. 
Now  the  chief  prisoner  was  indicted  under  the  name  of  Sam- 
uel Goodere,  "Esquire,"  though  he  had  unquestionably 
succeeded  to  the  baronetcy  on  the  death  of  his  brother, 
whilst  the  latter  was  styled  John  Dineley  Goodere,  though 
he  had  for  some  years  dropped  the  latter  surname,  and  is 
said  to  have  obtained  the  royal  license  to  do  so.  The  prison- 
ers having  been  convicted,  Goodere  insisted  upon  walking 
through  the  streets  to  Newgate,  arrayed  in  the  red  cloak 
then  generally  worn  by  the  upper  classes.  Still  professing 
innocence,  he  forwarded  a  petition  to  the  Crown,  as  did  his 
wife  and  daughter.  Finding  this  step  hopeless,  according  to 
au  early  edition  of  the  Newgate  Calendar  **he  got  some 
person  to  hire  a  great  number  of  colliers  to  rescue  him  while 
going  to  the  place  of  execution  ;  but  some  notice  of  his  de- 
sign having  transpired,  the  sheriff  raised  all  the  people  in 
the  city  that  were  able,  in  order  to  frustrate  any  attempt  of 
that  nature."  The  authorities  certainly  feared  an  attack  on 
Newgate,  for  a  new  door,  plated  with  iron,  was  set  up,  and 
w^atched  by  a  guard.      At  last  Goodere  fully  admitted  his 


202  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [17^1.. 

guilt  in  the  written  **  confession "  quoted  above.  Maliony 
and  White  made  a  joint  confession,  alleging  that  they  were 
made  almost  insensible  with  liquor  before  they  consented  to 
commit  the  deed.  The  three  murderers,  accompanied  by  a 
wretched  woman  convicted  of  killing  her  child,  were  exe- 
cuted on  the  15th  April.  The  body  of  Mahony  was  gibbeted 
on  Dunball  Island,  near  the  scene  of  the  murder.  Goodere's 
body  was  removed  to  the  Infirmary,  where,  in  the  presence 
of  as  many  spectators  as  could  crush  into  the  hall,  a  surgeon 
stuck  a  scalpel  into  the  breast.  In  this  state  it  was  exposed 
to  the  popular  gaze  until  the  evening,  and  then  despatched 
to  Herefordshire  and  buried  in  the  family  vault.  It  was  re- 
ported at  the  time  that  both  the  brothers  had  been  subject 
to  fits  of  insanity.  One  of  the  murderer's  sons,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  baronetcy,  died  in  a  lunatic  asylum. 

Some  additional  curious  facts,  hitherto  unpublished,  re- 
specting the  Dineley  family,  have  been  kindly  furnished  by 
Mr.  William  George,  from  his  extensive  collection  of  local 
manuscripts.  The  most  amusing  is  a  letter  from  Lady 
Dineley,  the  widow  of  the  murdered  man,  to  a  cousin,  Miss 
Bubb,  written  a  few  days  after  the  tragedy.  This  missive, 
indicating  the  education  acquired  by  the  heiress  of  a 
wealthy  Bristol  alderman,  is  as  follows  :^- 

Dr  Cosen  :  Whatt  your  hard  in  the  new  [news]  of  poor  Sr  Jon  is  to  trow 
and  itt  have  aU  mostt  ben  my  D.nh  for  I  am  frit  outt  of  my  wits.  S) 
horrid  a  murder  I  never  hard  of,  I  can  nott  tiU  yon  how  but  refur3  you  to 
the  newpaper  which  is  very  il  ritt.  1  have  a  g^reatt  deall  to  say  butt  ray 
Hartt  is  to  fuU  Dr  Mis  bubb  I  mnstt  stiU  l>e  trobiesume  to  you.  to  by  me 
moung  [mourning]  I  wood  have  itt  in  tlie  very  pink  of  ye  moda  &  very 
sollom  a  weed  of  Silk  as  is  made  on  this  a  Kaons  (occasions?)  &  everthing 
as  be  Long  to  a  Wedw  butt  no  Shou  or  Stokin  thett  I  can  liave  hera  I 
have  sentt  my  says  [size]  butt  lett  itt  be  to  bi^  and  Long  thatt  [it]  may  be 
alitud  [altered.)  1  have  a  blak  nightt  scoond  &  Dr  C>sn  pray  lett  it  b? 
sentt  the  beginn  of  nextt  weeka  for  Mr  Smith  and  I  am  abligd  to  be  in 
wostershera  the  Latta  Inn  [latter  end]  of  the  week  in  gr^att  bisness  I  live 
itt  to  you,  if  I  could  a  till  how  to  sentt  3^e  money  up  wood  butt  belive  if 
you  go  to  Mr  Howard  he  will  lett  yu  have  money,  or  yu  lett  me  know  how 
to  remitt  itt  to  you. 

On  the  back  of  the  leaf  containing  the  above,  in  the  same 
hand,  is  the  following  note,  addressed  to  "  Mr.  Howard, 
Inner  Temple  '' : — 

Sr,  I  bag  you  will  lett  Miss  bubb  have  wit  money  she  sholl  whantt  to 
by  me  some  things,  and  will  piy  you  itt  as  soon  as  I  see  you  which  I  hope 
will  be  in  may  nixtt  after  I  have  dun  with  ye  eijstt  [executors]  I  hope  yu 
had  my  letter    in  hastt  Sr  your  humbll  Sertt  M  Dineley. 

Miss  Bubb's  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  £15  follows. 
Lady  Dineley,  whose  *•  hartt  was  to  fuU,'^  but  who  required 
a  mourning  dress  in  the  pink  of  the  fashion,  does  not  im^ 


1:741.1  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  233 

prove  on  further  acquaintance.  In  May,  1732,  the  Gentle' 
man's  Magazine  recorded  that  "  Dingley  Goodere,  Esq.,  son 
of  Sir  Edward  Goodere,  Bart.,  recovered  of  Sir  Robert  Jason, 
Bart.,  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  £1000  for  crim.  con. 
with  his  wife.''  A  subsequent  suit  for  a  divorce  was  not 
prosecuted,  probably  from  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of 
the  husband.  Sir  Edward,  the  father  of  the  two  brothers, 
survived  until  March,  1739.  At  that  time  Sir  John  had  an 
only  son,  Edward  Dinelej'',  who  had  reached  manhood,  but 
was  evidently  another  sufferer  from  the  mental  weakness  of 
the  family.  Owing  to  his  dissipated  habits  as  a  boy,  his 
father  apprenticed  him  to  a  saddler,  and  he  appears  to  have 
been  afterwards  wholly  discarded.  According  to  an  affidavit 
of  an  attorney's  clerk,  dated  the  22nd  January,  1740,  in  Mr. 
George's  possession,  this  Edward,  in  the  previous  month, 
was  lodgmg  at  a  low  alehouse  in  South  wark,  when  he 
expressed  his  willingness  to  serve  his  father,  and  spite  his 
uncle,  *'  who  had  used  him  very  ill,"  by  destroying  the 
entail  of  the  family  estate.  By  order  of  Sir  John,  the  young 
man,  who  was  in  the  last  stage  of  illness,  was  removed  to 
the  house  of  an  attornev  in  Fetter  Lane,  where,  in  considera- 
tion  of  being  promised  £200  a  year,  he  executed,  only 
two  days  before  his  death,  the  necessary  deed  for  eflPecting 
what  was  called  a  "  common  recovery  "  of  the  property. 
Captain  Goodere  attempted  to  defeat  the  proceeding,  and 
alleged  in  court  that  Edward  Dineley  was  dead  when  the 
deed  was  executed,  and  that  the  signature  was  the  forgery 
of  Sir  John,  who  had  put  a  pen  in  the  hand  of  the  corpse. 
This  charge,  which  was  disproved  by  the  witnesses  and 
rejected  by  the  judges,  increased  the  exasperation  of  the 
baronet,  who  was  himself  so  ill  as  to  apprehend  death,  and 
he  made  a  will  before  the  end  of  the  same  month,  leaving 
his  Worcestershire  estates  to  his  sister's  son,  John  Foote, 
and  his  Gloucestershire  property  to  another  nephew,  the 
afterwards  celebrated  Samuel  Foote.  The  testator  appears 
to  have  forgotten  the  existence  of  his  wife,  who  was  entitled 
to  enjoy  the  latter  estates  (her  father's)  for  life,  and  had 
also  a  jointure  on  the  former.  Shortly  after  the  murder, 
however,  she  asserted  herself  in  a  remarkable  manner,  by 
producing  a  boy,  aged  about  eleven  years,  to  whom  she 
alleged  she  gave  birth  about  two  months  before  flying  from 
her  husband's  house  owing  to  his  ill  usage.  In  the  case 
drawn  up  under  her  directions  for  the  opinion  of  counsel,  it 
was  stated  that  all  the  witnesses  of  the  birth  were  dead, 
that  the  boy's  existence  had  been  concealed  from  his  father^ 


234  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1741. 

and  that  the  proof  of  his  rights  would  mainly  rest  on  the 
mother^s  testimony.  Her  legal  adviser — the  Mr.  Howard 
already  referred  to — endorsed  the  document  as  follows  : — 
"  This  was  the  fictitious  case  Lady  Dineley  made  me  draw 
and  take  opinion  on  when  she  wanted  to  set  up  and  pretend 
she  had  a  son  by  Sir  John  then  living,  and  which  was  all 
false.''  The  adventurous  lady  afterwards  married  one 
William  Rayner,  a  printer,  in  London,  who  disposed  of  her 
rights  to  the  Tockington  and  Worcestershire  properties. 
She  died  in  1767,  at  Stapleton. 

A  successful  battle  against  heavy  odds  was  fought  by  a 
Bristol  privateer  on  the  8th  February,  1741.  The  Princess 
Augusta,  a  vessel  of  14  guns  and  26  men,  commanded  by 
Captain  Grwynn,  was  attacked  to  the  West  of  Scilly  by  a 
Spanish  privateer  with  24  guns  and  78  men.  The  Bristol 
ship  delivered  the  first  broadside,  which  was  of  so  effective  a 
character  that  the  enemy's  vessel  blew  up,  and  all  her  crew, 
save  five  men,  were  drowned.  A  still  more  adventurous 
affair  was  soon  afterwards  announced.  The  Boyd  privateer. 
Captain  Colt,  with  60  men,  had  made  prize  of  two  Spanish 
merchantmen  in  West  Indian  waters,  when  one  of  the 
enemy's  men  of  war  hove  in  sight.  Desirous  of  securing 
the  prizes,  Colt  drafted  into  them  48  of  his  crew,  with  orders 
to  make  all  sail  for  Jamaica,  while  he  remained  to  fight  the 
Spaniard.  After  a  long  engagement,  the  Boyd  was,  of 
course,  captured,  and  the  captain  and  crew  were  sent 
prisoners  to  Carthagena.  On  the  night  after  being  landed 
they  broke  out  of  prison,  seized  a  yawl  in  the  harbour,  and 
escaped,  subsequently  plundering  houses  on  the  coast  for 
provisions.  On  arriving  safely  at  Jamaica  they  rejoined 
their  comrades,  with  the  prizes.  Jamaica  was  raised  to  a 
state  of  great  prosperity  by  the  war,  which  largely  increased 
the  prices  of  colonial  produce.  In  a  letter  from  a  planter  to 
a  Bristol  merchant,  published  in  the  Londmi  Jouryial  of  July 
21st,  1741,  the  writer  asserts  that  he  has  longed  for  many 
3'ears  to  return  to  England,  and  "especially  Bristol,  the 
place  of  my  birth ;  "  but  that  he  would  have  been  con- 
demned to  perpetual  exile  or  to  beggary  but  for  '*  the  happy 
change  in  public  circumstances.  'Twas  '  poor  Jamaica,' 
before  the  war  broke  out,  but  'tis  now  rich  Jamaica  I  assure 
you."  He  is  selling  his  three  plantations  on  his  own  terms, 
and  hopes  to  embark  with  others  in  an  early  ship.  '*  We 
have  some  of  us  got  enough,  thank  God." 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place  in  1741,  but  led  to 
no  change  in  the  representation  oi  the  city,  Sir  Abraham 


k 


1741-42.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  235 

Elton  and  Mr.  Edward  Southwell  being  reelected  without 
opposition. 

The  growth  of  trade  and  population  at  this  period  en- 
couraged the  citizens  to  appeal  to  the  Ministry  for  an  im- 
provement in  the  postal  communication  with  London,  which 
was  still  limited  to  three  days  per  week.  Yielding  to  the 
pressure,  the  po^t  office  authorities  established  three  ad- 
ditional mails  in  June,  1741,  so  that  letters  might  pass  to 
and  fro  every  working  day. 

During  the  discussion  on  the  Mutiny  Bill  in  the  House  of 
Commons  this  year,  the  Ministry  stated  that  to  allay  many 
complaints  respecting  the  relations  betwixt  innkeepers  and 
marching  regiments,  they  proposed  to  allow  fourpence  for 
each  man  billeted,  in  return  for  which  the  victualler  would 
provide  bedding,  candle,  fire,  cooking  utensils,  and  three 
quarts  of  cider  or  small  beer.  Some  West  of  England 
members  protested  against  the  quantity  of  cider  allowed, 
declaring  that  the  excess  would  lead  to  drunkenness ;  but  it 
was  retorted  that  the  average  quantity  of  liquor  daily  con- 
sumed by  gentlemen's  servants  was  at  least  three  quarts. 
Eventually  the  allowance  to  the  troops  was  reduced  to  five 
pints.  It  was  estimated  that  this  quantity  of  light  beer 
would  cost  the  innkeeper  l\d.  The  working  class  consump- 
tion of  beer  was  still  prodigious.  In  December,  1742,  the 
Bristol  magistrates  increased  the  mimber  of  alehouses  in  the 
city  to  384,  exclusive  of  28  inns  and  many  vintners'  shops, 
being  nearly  double  the  number  granted  in  1700.  Yet  30 
more  alehouse  licenses  were  granted  in  1744,  and  the 
number  was  raised  to  600  in  1747,  and  to  625  in  17B4, 
although  the  entire  city,  at  the  latter  date,  did  not  contain 
more  than  about  6,260  houses. 

A  four  sheet  plan  of  the  city,  from  a  survey  made  in  1741 
by  John  Rocque,  was  published  soon  afterwards  by  Benja- 
min Hickey,  an  enterprising  Bristol  bookseller.  The 
Council,  in  1744,  voted  Hickey  £20  ibr  the  "  great  pains, 
trouble,  and  expense  "  he  had  bestowed  on  the  production. 
The  price  of  this  finely  engraved  plan  was  only  half  a 
guinea.  Chatterton  incidentally  states  in  one  of  his  poems 
that  Hickey  was  ruined  by  this  adventure. 

An  extraordinary  but  well  authenticated  story,  illustrative 
of  the  state  of  the  marriage  laws,  was  published  in  the 
Bristol  Oracle  of  January  8th,  1742.  One  Edgar,  a  stuflf 
maker,  of  Bristol,  left  about  £3,000  to  the  only  daughter  of 
his  son  Thomas,  to  be  paid  when  she  married  or  came  of 
age.     Thomas  having  died,  and  his  widow  having  promptly 


236  THE    ANNALS    OF    BRISTOL  [1742. 

married  a  second  husband,  named  Allen,  the  trustees  under 
the  will  sent  the  child  to  a  boarding  school  ;  but  the  mother, 
having  determined  on  making  money  out  of  her  daughter, 
succeeded  in  abducting  her  by  stratagem,  and  refused  to 
give  her  xip.  Mrs.  Allen  next  opened  negotiations  with  a 
clerk,  nineteen  years  old,  offering  to  sell  the  child  in  mar- 
riage for  the  sum  of  £600.  The  terms  being  agreed  upon, 
the  parties  requested  an  attorney  to  draw  up  the  necessary 
deed,  but  the  lawyer  warned  the  mother  that  the  youth's 
proposed  bond  would  be  valueless,  as  he  was  under  age. 
Mrs.  Allen  thereupon  dismissed  the  clerk,  and  made  a  fresh 
bargain  of  a  similar  character  with  a  sheriffs  officer  named 
Taylor,  who  secretly  conveyed  the  child  (under  thirteen 
years  of  age)  to  Bath,  and  there  clandestinely  married 
her. 

The  prediction  of  Walpole,  on  the  declaration  of  the 
Spanish  war,  that  bell-ringing  would  soon  give  place  to 
hand  wringing,  was  only  too  soon  realised.  The  conflict 
proved  very  calamitous  to  the  English  mercantile  marine. 
Spanish  privateers  hovered  near  every  port,  and  Bristol  was 
an  especial  sxifferer  from  their  raids.  In  January,  1742,  a 
petition  of  the  Merchants'  Society  was  presented  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  representing  that  trade  was  becoming 
daily  more  precarious  owing  to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy's 
cruisers,  and  praying  that  adequate  provision  might  be  made 
for  the  protection  of  commerce.  It  was  found  impossible, 
however,  to  prevent  disasters,  which  were  far  from  being 
counterbalanced  by  the  occasional  captures  of  Spanish 
vessels.  The  local  clothing  trade  suffered  a  check,  from 
which  it  never  recovered,  and  there  was  a  marked  increase 
of  pauperism.  A  loan  of  £1,000,  free  of  interest  for  three 
years,  was  made  by  the  Common  Council  to  the  guardians. 
It  was  stated  in  May,  1742,  that  the  poor  rate  in  Frome  had 
been  raised  to  12^.  in  the  pound,  and  that  although  1,000 
weavers  there  had  been  driven  by  starvation  to  enter  the 
army,  yet  that  many  of  the  remaining  workmen  were 
destitute  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

An  odd  occasion  for  rejoicing  notwithstanding  presented 
itself.  From  the  beginning  of  the  reign,  George  II.  and  his 
eldest  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  had  lived  on  exceedingly 
bad  terms,  and  the  heir  to  the  throne,  through  hatred  of  his 
father,  eventually  made  his  little  court  the  focus  of  opposi- 
tion against  the  Ministers  of  the  Crown,  even  Jacobites 
receiving  a  cordial  welcome.  The  quarrel  having  threat- 
ened such  grave  results  as  to  cause  disquiet  throughout  the 


1742.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  237 

country,  the  patching  up  of  a  reconciliation  assumed  the 
aspect  of  a  great  political  event.  Its  announcement  in 
Bristol  on  the  19th  February,  says  a  London  journal, 
*^  occasioned  a  general  joy  on  all  faces.  The  churches  of 
Temple  and  St.  Stephen  were  adorned  with  colours,  and 
large  bonfires  were  made  in  each  parish.  The  mayor,  alder- 
men, common  council,  clergy,  and  gentlemen  met  in  the 
evening  at  the  Council  House,  and  unanimously  expressed 
their  great  satisfaction  at  this  happy  event." 

It  is  probable  that  the  above  incident  was  intended  to  be 
commemorated  by  the  name  of  "  Unity  "  given  to  the  street 
leading  from  College  Green  to  Orchard  Street,  which  the 
Corporation  laid  open  at  this  date. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  1st  March,  an  account 
sent  in  by  Abel  Dagg,  the  keeper  of  Newgate,  was  refused 
payment,  on  the  ground  that  the  charges  were  *^  unprece- 
dented." It  is  impossible  to  identify  the  items  objected  to. 
About  two-thirds  of  the  claim  were  for  "  allowance  of  2d.  a 
day  for  felons  under  sentence  of  transportation,"  who  were 
required  to  find  food  for  themselves  out  of  this  pittance. 
The  other  items  were  "  three  quarters  rent  of  the  New 
Water,"  £1  10^•.,  showing  that  the  Corporation  patronised 
the  Water  Company  to  this  meagre  extent,  and  three  coffins 
for  White,  Mahony,  and  Williams  (executed  with  Captain 
Goodere),  16**. 

At  1  he  same  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
sider how  the  by-law  imposing  fines  on  members  for  non- 
attendance  could  be  more  stringently  enforced,  many 
defaulters  having  omitted  to  pay.  The  committee  was  also 
to  consider  the  case  of  "  such  members  of  the  House  as 
reside  altogether  out  of  the  city,  and  neglect  their  duty  and 
attendance."  Some  notable  instances  of  irregularities  of 
this  kind  occur  in  the  minute  books.  A  gentleman  named 
Noblet  Ruddock,  having  become  bankrupt  and  taken  up  his 
residence  in  the  West  Indies,  was  "  dismissed "  from  the 
Corporation  in  1734,  when  he  had  been  absent  seven  years. 
In  several  other  cases  absenteeism  was  condoned,  however 
long  might  bo  its  duration,  and  insolvent  councillors  were 
not  uncommon. 

A  man  named  William  Curtis  was  hanged  on  the  8th 
April  for  having  returned  to  England  before  his  term  of 
transportation  had  expired.  The  case  was  somewhat  pecu- 
liar. In  1739  Curtis  had  acted  as  hangman  at  an  execution 
in  Bristol.  A  few  months  later  he  was  sentenced  to  death 
at  Gloucester  for  robbing  a  Scotch  pedlar,  but  was  trans- 


238  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1742. 

ported  for  fourteen  years.  In  October,  1741,  the  Scotchman 
was  an  insolvent  debtor  in  Newgate  prison,  and  Curtis, 
having  returned  to  Bristol  from  America,  and  seeing  his 
former  victim  at  the  debtors'  gate,  loaded  him  with  insults. 
Having  returned  to  Newgate  day  after  day  to  continue  his 
abuse,  Curtis  was  at  length  denounced  by  the  pedlar,  on 
whose  information  he  was  arrested,  and  in  due  course 
brought  to  the  scaffold. 

Mr.  Richard  Bayley,  then  serving  the  office  of  mayor, 
died  on  the  17th  May,  1742,  when,  according  to  precedent, 
the  aldermen  temporarily  undertook  "the  government  of 
the  city."  On  the  26th  the  Council  elected  John  Bartlett 
as  chief  magistrate  for  the  remainder  of  the  municipal  year. 
The  elaborate  ceremony  of  installation  on  such  occasions  has 
been  already  described. 

An  event  probably  more  painful  to  the  civic  body  than 
the  death  of  a  member  was  announced  in  the  same  month. 
Alderman  Henry  Nash  (mayor,  1727)  forwarded  his  resigna- 
tion, accompanied  by  a  petition  for  relief,  having  "  through 
a  series  of  misfortunes "  been  reduced  to  beggary.  An 
annuity  of  £B0  was  voted.  Mr.  Nash  was  unable  to  bear 
his  misfortunes  with  dignity.  In  1744  the  Council  found 
that  he  was  making  "  an  ill  use  of  its  benevolence,"  and  he 
was  warned  that  further  misconduct  would  cause  the  stop- 
page of  his  pension.  Debasement  of  this  character  is,  how- 
ever, rarely  curable,  and  the  annuity  was  actually  suspended 
for  three  years,  when  it  was  formally  revoked,  and  a  pay- 
ment of  £3  a  month  substituted.  The  unhappy  man  lived 
on  for  several  years. 

Some  matters  connected  with  the  Exchange  came  before 
the  Council  during  the  summer  of  1742.  The  most  interest- 
ing incident  was  a  discovery,  in  excavating  the  site,  of  174 
ounces  of  silver  plate,  including  a  salver,  six  cups,  a  beaker, 
two  tankards,  four  salts,  twenty-three  spoons,  and  an  earthen 
flask  with  a  silver  top  and  cover.  The  civic  cash-book  con- 
tains the  following  entry : — "  Received  of  John  Vaughan, 
silversmith,  for  several  pieces  of  old  silver  plate  that  was 
found  in  digging  the  foundation  of  the  Exchange,  £49  2s.  9d.- ' 
On  the  other  side  of  the  account  is  a  pavment  of  £1  17s,  3rf. 
made  to  Vaughan  for  "  what  he  lost  in  purchasing  "  the 
plate  in  question.  The  relics  seem  to  have  been  committed 
to  the  melting-pot.  The  Rev.  Josiah  Tucker,  incumbent  of 
All  Saints,  petitioned  the  Chamber  for  relief,  stating  that 
one-fourth  of  the  annual  collection  from  the  parish  towards 
his  support  had  been  lost  by  the  removal  of  inhabitants 


1742.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  239 

whose  dwellings  had  been  destroyed  to  clear  the  site.  His 
appeal  was  laid  on  the  table.  In  another  case  the  corpora- 
tors met  with  their  match.  They  wished  to  purchase  and 
demolish  the  hall  of  the  Hoopers^  (Coopers*)  Company,  in 
order  to  widen  the  passage  on  the  western  side  oi  the 
Exchange.  Mr.  Wood  describes  it  as  a  "  shattered  old 
building,"  but  after  some  negotiation  the  Chamber  offered 
£1,400  for  it,  and  £100  more  for  the  company's  interest  in 
a  house  in  Corn  Street.  The  Hoopers,  however,  refused  to 
part  with  their  hall  unless  they  were  granted  four  houses  in 
King  Street,  together  with  £900  in  cash ;  and  the  Council 
was  forced  to  submit  to  the  terms.  The  new  Coopers'  Hall 
appears  to  have  been  forthwith  erected,  as  its  architect, 
William  Halfpenny,  published  a  view  of  the  building  in 
1744. 

Salt  refining  was  a  considerable  local  industry  at  this 
date.  The  Gloucester  Journal  announced  in  June  that  one 
John  Purnell  had  opened  a  warehouse  in  St.  Peter's  Street, 
Bristol,  for  the  sale  of  salt,  "  refined  from  the  rock,  being  the 
same  sorts  as  are  made  in  the  city." 

A  vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  band  of  civic  musicians, 
the  mayor  and  aldermen,  on  the  8th  July,  elected  David 
Hughes,  and  ordered  "  that  he  enter  into  the  usual  bond  for 
the  re-delivery  of  the  silver  chain  and  badge  usually  worn 
by  the  said  waitplayers,  and  pay  £10  to  the  widow  "  of  his 
predecessor.  The  badges  continued  in  use  until  the  great 
municipal  "  revolution  "  in  1835.  Mr.  T.  D.  Taylor  kindly 
informs  me  : — "  The  waits  after  making  night  hideous,  the 
week  before  Christmas,  with  their  *  sackbut,  dulcimer,'  &c., 
used  to  come  round  on  boxing  day  to  receive  gratuities, 
and  the  badge  was  shown  as  a  guarantee  that  they  were 
the  genuine  tormentors.  I  remember,  when  I  was  a 
tiny  youngster,  being  deputed  to  tip  them,  and  I  was 
then  shown  the  badge,  and  had  it  m  my  hand."  The 
chains,  of  ancient  workmanship,  are  preserved  at  the 
Council  House. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  Bart.,  an  elec- 
tion of  a  member  for  the  city  took  place  in  November,  1742. 
Only  one  candidate  came  forward — Mr.  Robert  Hoblyn,  a 
Cornish  gentleman  of  literary  tastes,  who  had  in  1741 
married  the  heiress  of  Mr.  Thomas  Coster,  of  College  Green, 
M.P.,  deceased,  "an  agreeable  lady,"  says  the  marriage 
announcement,  "  of  fine  accomplishments,  and  reputed  a 
fortune  of  £40,000 !  "  The  new  member  being  a  Tory,  the 
Whigs  lost  their  share  in  the  representation. 


240  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1742. 

Numerous  references  to  coflFee-houses  occur  about  this 
time,  and  the  opportunity  may  be  taken  to  note  the  most 
prominent  of  those  institutions.  A  manuscript  note  by 
Mr.  Tyson  (Jefferies  Collection)  states  that  the  earliest  was 
the  Elephant  coffee-house  near  the  Merchants'  Tolzey, 
adjoining  All  Saints  Church,  which  house,  says  our 
authority,  was  in  existence  in  1677.  But  according  to 
a  took  in  the  Council  House,  four  men  were  presented 
by  the  jury  of  All  Saints  and  St.  Nicholas  for  selling 
"  coffey "  and  ale  without  a  license  in  1666,  from  which 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  establishment  of  coffee-houses 
in  London,  about  1667,  had  soon  given  birth  to  similar 
licensed  places  of  entertainment  in  Bristol.  They  soon 
became  so  numerous  as  to  excite  the  suspicion  of  the  arbi- 
trary faction  then  predominant,  and  in  1681  the  grand  jury, 
alleging  that  they  were  frequented  on  Sundays  by  seditious 
sectaries  and  disloyal  persons,  recommended  that  no  news- 
letter or  pamphlet  should  be  suffered  to  be  read  in  them 
unless  it  had  first  received  the  approval  of  the  mayor  or  the 
aldermen  of  the  wards  in  which  the  houses  were  situated ! 
Even  so  late  as  1712  the  author  of  **  Bristol  Delineated  "  has 
been  seen  denouncing  the  "  pernicious  scribblers  "  whose 
writings  were  read  by  those  who  indulged  in  ^^  Turkish 
Lap.''  By  a  will  dated  in  1713,  a  lady  disposed  of  her  in- 
terest in  **  a  corner  messuage  in  the  Tolzey  in  All  Saints 
parish,  occupied  by  John  Cooke  as  a  coffee-house  ; ''  and  in 
1718  the  feoffees  of  All  Saints  granted  to  Cooke,  *^  the  great 
roomth  called  the  old  vestry,  lying  over  the  northward  isle 
of  the  church/'  reserving  a  right  of  passage  "  up  and  down 
the  stairs  coming  through  a  messuage  called  Cooke's  Coffee 
House."  This  house,  probably  the  most  popular  in  the  city, 
was  in  1723  known  as  the  London  Coffee-house.  It  was 
closed  about  1769,  wheii  the  American  Coffee-house  was 
established.  The  Elephant,  mentioned  by  Tyson,  was  in 
All  Saints  Lane.  In  1730  there  was  a  coffee-house  in  Col- 
lege Green — probably  identical  with  that  sometimes  called 
** Will's"  in  advertisements.  In  17-40  mention  occurs  oF 
Little  John's  Coffee-house  in  Temple  Street.  In  June,  1742, 
soon  after  the  Oracle  was  started  by  Andrew  Hooke,  his 
wife  set  up  St.  Michael's  Coffee-house  in  Maudlin  Street, 
where  Hooke,  after  being  liberated  from  a  debtors'  prison, 
used  to  enliven  the  dulness  of  his  editorial  Ia[bours  by  teach- 
ing geography  and  the  use  of  the  globes  three  days  a  week. 
Encouraged  by  the  patronage  afforded  him,  Hooke  seen 
afterwards  rented   the   Barber   Surgeons'    Hall,   near    the 


1743.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  241 

Exchange,  which  was  first  called  Hooke's,  and  subsequently 
the  West  Indian  Coffee-house.  The  Hot  Well  Coffee-house, 
adjoining  the  spring,  and  the  Castle  Coffee-house  in  Castle 
Street  are  also  mentioned  in  the  journals  of  1743.  The 
Exchange  Coffee-house  was  opened  in  that  year.  The 
Custom  House  Coffee-house,  in  Queen  Square,  occurs  in 
1744,  the  African  Coffee-house,  in  Prince's  Street,  in 
1749,  the  Marine  Coffee-house,  in  Queen  Square,  in  1750, 
the  Gibb  Coffee-house,  in  Prince's  Street,  in  1751,  and  the 
Green  Coffee-house,  in  Denmark  Street,  in  1755.  In  1760 
the  Bridal  Chronicle  incidentally  mentions,  in  addition  to 
several  of  the  above,  the  coffee-houses  known  as  Foster's, 
the  New  Assembly  Room's,  and  St.  Augustine's.  The 
Somerset  on  Redcliff  Hill,  the  London  and  Bath  in  All 
Saints'  Lane,  and  the  house  at  Rennison's  Baths  are  men- 
tioned in  or  before  1767.  The  American  Coffee-house  stood 
in  1770  between  the  White  Lion  and  the  White  Hart  hotels 
in  Broad  Street,  but  was  afterwards  united  with  the  former, 
and  had  its  name  altered  to  **  British  "  about  1785 ;  it  re- 
mained a  part  of  the  premises  until  they  were  destroyed 
in  1865.  About  1789  Jack's  Coffee-house,  opposite  the 
Exchange,  kept  by  John  Weeks,  of  the  adjoining  Bush 
hotel,  began  to  be  much  used  as  a  sale  room,  as  the 
Exchange  Coffee-house  had  been  from  an  early  date.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  the  century  the  practice  of  drinking  coffee 
in  public  places  had  gone  out  of  fashion,  and  as  it  had  be- 
come customary  for  hotel  keepers  to  reserve  an  apartment 
for  newspaper  readers  under  the  name  of  "  coffee  room  " — 
a  misnomer  still  retained — the  coffee-houses  proper  fell  out 
of  favour  and  gradually  disappeared.  Only  four  survived 
in  1798. 

Admiral  Vernon,  one  of  the  popular  idols  of  the  day, 
landed  at  Bristpl  on  the  6th  of  January,  1743,  after  one  of 
his  West  India  cruises.  He  was  greeted  with  great  ac- 
clamations in  proceeding  to  Small  Street  to  partake  of  the 
hospitality  of  the  mayor.  Sir  Abraham  Elton.  A  week  later, 
thirty  chests  of  silver  bullion,  containing  about  900,000 
pieces-of-eight,  **  a  large  portion  being  the  glorious  trophies 
of  the  admiral's  conquests,"  were  taken  out  of  his  ship  and 
despatched  to  London.  By  dint  of  much  exertion,  the 
journey  was  completed  in  five  days. 

One  of  the  earliest  Bristol  boarding  schools  for  young  ladies 
was  announced  bj'  the  local  Journal  of  March  3 1st,  1743,  as 
having  been  just  opened  in  College  Green  by  Mrs.  Becher, 
widow  of  a  clergyman.     The  best  boarding  school  for  boys 

R 


242  THE    ANNALS   OF   BKISTOL  [1743. 

was  then  kept  in  Small  Street  by  Mr.  John  Jones.  The 
school  premises  are  described  in  an  advertisement  of  Septem- 
ber, 1742,  as  "  over  the  Post  House/'  (The  site  of  the  little 
Post-office  in  All  Saints  Court  had  been  required  for  the 
Exchange.)  Mr.  Jones,  who  began  teaching  here  in  1713, 
published  a  work  entitled  "  A  Step  towards  an  English 
Education,"  from  which  it  appears  that  he  had  shocked 
contemporary  prejudices  by  teaching  his  pupils  geography. 
In  defence  of  this  innovation  he  produced  a  laudator}^  testi- 
monial from  "  the  celebrated  Whiston."  At  a  later  date  his 
school  was  located  in  Maryleport  Street.  In  1730  Thomas 
Jones,  a  brother  of  John,  had  a  boarding  school  in  Wine 
Street,  to  which  he  annexed  an  "  Intelligence  Office  for 
Apprentices" — and  doubtless  also  for  servants — the  first 
established  in  the  city.  A  few  years  later  Thomas  is  found 
to  have  betaken  himself  and  his  boarders  to  the  salubrious 
Pithay,  but  he  removed  in  1747  to  Nicholas  Street,  and  in 
1762  to  Castle  Green,  which,  he  says  in  an  announcement, 
"  is  reckoned  one  of  the  airiest  parts  of  the  city."  In  April, 
1747,  Mr.  James  Stewart,  writing  master  (the  author  of  the 
MS.  annals  so  often  quoted),  advertised  that  he  should  con- 
tinue to  carry  on  the  boarding  school  established  in  Christ- 
mas Street  by  his  late  father.  Stewart  was  a  skilful 
draughtsman,  and  made  sketches  of  every  ancient  edifice  in 
the  city,  one  of  which — a  view  of  EedcliflF  Church — was 
engraved,  and  a  few  others  are  in  the  Bodleian  Library. 
He  subsequently  removed  his  school  to  Maudlin  Street, 
where  he  died  in  March,  1769.  A  boarding  school  that 
attained  great  repute  was  that  of  the  Rev.  William  Foot,  a 
classical  scholar,  who  opened  his  first  seminary  in  Redcross 
Street  in  1748,  but  soon  removed  to  a  large  mansion  on  St. 
MichaeFs  Hill,  the  site  of  which  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
ground  now  covered  by  St.  Michaels  Terrace.  In  1768 
there  were  two  schools  in  Tower  Lane,  and  others  in  Bell 
Lane,  Christmas  Street,  and  Milk  Street.  The  charge  for 
boarding  was  extremely  moderate.  A  Yorkshire  school- 
master announced  in  the  Bristol  Journal  for  June  9th,  1769, 
that  boys  of  between  six  and  ten  years  were  **  comfortably 
boarded,  decently  clothed,  and  carefully  educated  "  in  his 
establishment  at  £10  per  head  per  annum.  The  Rev.  James 
Rouquet,  a  Bristol  clergyman,  opened  a  high-class  boarding 
school  at  Kingswood  in  1762,  at  which  the  charge  was  £14 
a  year.  It  appears  from  the  Gore  Papers  in  the  Jefferies 
Collection  that  Nathaniel  Ainsworth,  a  famous  teacher,  who 
removed  his  boarding  school  from  Yatton  to  Long  Ashton  in 


1743.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  243 

1755,  demanded  only  30s,  a  year  for  teaching  gentlemen's 
sons  who  were  out-door  pupils.  Coming  down  a  little  later, 
one  Nathaniel  Cope,  in  1771,  opened  a  boarding  school  for 
young  gentlemen  in  Cathay,  "a  very  delectable  and  healthy 
situation ;  "  and  allowed  them  the  use  of  his  extensive 
library  "  at  so  small  a  gratuity  as  half  a  crown  per  quarter." 
A  more  popular  school  was  that  of  John  Jones,  who  occupied 
Cotham  House  in  1771,  but  removed  two  years  later  to  the 
Royal  Fort.  His  pupils  were  boarded  "  in  the  most  genteel 
manner "  for  £16  yearly,  but  extra  fees  were  charged  for 
any  instruction  exceeding  "  the  three  R's.'^  Jones  was  suc- 
ceeded in  this  school  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seyer,  the  historian. 
It  may  be  noticed  that  in  1771  the  Christmas  holiday 
generally  concluded  with  the  first  week  in  January. 

The  Common  Council  received  a  memorial  in  May,  1743, 
from  Martha  Creswick,  daughter  of  Joseph  Creswick  (maj^or, 
1679),  by  Martha,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Knight  (mayor, 
1663),  setting  forth  her  extreme  distress  through  misfortunes. 
A  pension  of  £20  a  year  was  granted  to  the  aged  petitioner. 
The  Creswick  family,  one  of  the  wealthiest  in  the  city 
during  the  previous  century,  was  at  this  time  declining, 
chiefly  owing  to  its  inveterate  fondness  for  litigation. 
Within  living  memory,  the  lineal  representative  of  Sir 
Henry  Creswick,  of  Bristol  and  Hanham,  is  said  to  have 
worked  as  a  common  labourer  on  the  lands  owned  by  his 
ancestors. 

For  some  inscrutable  reason,  the  feast  of  the  Ascension,  or 
Holy  Thursday,  was  selected  all  over  England  during  the 
Middle  Ages  as  the  fittest  day  for  the  perambulation  of 
manorial  and  parochial  boundaries,  and  the  custom,  which 
still  survives,  was  in  full  vigour  in  Bristol  at  the  period  now 
under  review.  From  the  following  items  extracted  from 
the  accounts  of  St.  Nicholas's  parish  for  1743,  it  would 
appear  that  disputes  as  to  boundaries  between  adjoining 
districts  sometimes  brought  about  personal  collisions,  but 
that  they  were  on  this  occasion  avoided  by  a  modest  oxitlay 
for  liquor : — "  Wine,  when  it  was  agreed  between  the 
gentlemen  of  All  Saints  parish  to  perambulate  peaceably, 
3.*?.  8d.  Paid  for  a  barrell  of  ale  (36  gallons)  £1  is.  Thomas 
Neast  for  dinner  &c.  £6  7^.  6d.  Paid  for  a  quarter  of 
mutton  for  the  almswomen,  4^.  4irf.  One  hundred  and  a 
quarter  of  twigs  3.9.  9d.  Paid  ringers  12.9."  (The  twigs 
were  applied  during  the  proceedings  upon  the  tender  parts 
of  boys  and  meek-minded  spectators,  to  impress  their  memo- 
ries with  the  precise  limits  of  the  vestry's  jurisdiction.)     At 


244?  THE    ANNALS   OF   BEISTOL  [1743. 

a  later  period  the  authorities  increased  the  jollification  of  the 
day,  £17  13.$.  being  spent  in  1769  ;  but  this  brought  about  a 
reaction,  and  a  resolution  was  passed  that  the  outlay  should 
not  in  future  exceed  £8.  The  vestry  of  St.  Stephen's,  the 
adjoining  parish,  being  less  richly  endowed,  confined  its 
expenses  on  such  occasions  to  £3  or  £4.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  it  engaged  the  parish  mason  to  attend  the  peram- 
bulations "  to  move  any  [boundary]  stones  that  shall  be  false 
arreckted  "  (Minutes,  1727). 

An  interesting,  but  unfortunately  obscure,  entry  occurs 
in  the  minutes  of  a  Common  Council  meeting  held  in  June, 
1743.  A  letter,  it  appears,  was  read  from  Mr.  William 
Champion  [see  page  67],  stating  that  some  years  previously 
he  had  acquired  possession  of  Baber's  Tower  (standing  near 
St.  Philip's  Church)  and  had  erected  large  "  fire  works  "  on 
the  premises  at  a  great  expense.  Finding  that  the  works 
had  become  a  nuisance  to  the  neighbourhood,  he  had  de- 
stroyed them,  and  now  undertook  to  make  improvements  on 
the  property  if  he  were  granted  a  renewal  of  the  lease.  His 
request  was  acceded  to,  provided  that  he  "  erased  certain  air 
furnaces"  and  built  a  dwelling  house.  A  steam  engine 
being  then  called  a  fire  engine,  a  conjecture  is  permissible 
that  the  "  fire  works "  included  the  first  labour-saving 
machine  erected  in  Bristol.  Champion  removed  his  works 
to  Warmley,  taking  with  him,  according  to  Ellacombe's 
History  of  Bitton,  the  Baber's  Tower  referred  to  above, 
which  eventually  was  called  BabePs  Tower,  and  gave  birth 
to  idle  legends.  In  the  Bristol  Journal  of  September  30th, 
1749,  is  an  account  of  a  "  fire  en^ne  "  just  constructed  near 
Birmingham,  for  William  Champion  and  Co.'s  brass  works  at 
Warmley.  "  The  machine  is  the  most  noblest  of  the  kind 
in  the  world ;  it  discharges  upwards  of  3000  hhds.  of  water 
in  an  hour.  The  water  is  buoyed  up  by  the  several  tubes 
in  a  hemispher  of  a  conical  form,  and  falls  into  a  pool  as  a 
cascade,  and  affords  a  grand  and  beautiful  scene."  The 
water  raised  by  the  engine  was  used  to  turn  a  large  water- 
wheel,  by  which  rotary  power  was  obtained  for  driving  the 
machinery  of  the  factory. 

The  Hot  Well  was  at  this  period  in  great  repute  among 
people  of  fashion.  The  Oracle  of  June  llth,  1743,  states  that 
on  the  previous  Wednesday  the  Earl  of  Jersey  gave  a  break- 
fast at  the  Long  Room  to  150  persons  of  high  life,  and  that 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Ponsonby  olTered  a  similar  entertainment  two 
days  later.  Public  breakfasts,  followed  by  a  dance,  were 
given  once  or  twice  weekly  during  the  season  at  the  Long 


1743.]  IN  TUE  KIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  245 

Room,  and  there  were  also  evening  balls.  To  provide  addi- 
tional accommodation,  a  number  of  extensive  lodging- 
houses  were  built  in  Dowry  Square  about  1746.  Further 
amusements  being  demanded,  a  piece  of  ground  near  the 
Long  Room  was  opened  for  evening  dances,  under  the  name 
of  the  New  Vauxhall  Gardens,  the  place  being  gaily 
illuminated.  This  met  with  so  much  approval  that  the 
proprietor,  in  July,  1761,  announced  that  public  breakfasts, 
with  music,  would  be  given  twice  a  week.  *'  Admission  2s. 
each,  including  breakfast.  The  evening  entertainments  as 
usual. *'  In  1757  four  concerts  weekly  were  given  in  thet:e 
Gardens ;  *^  admission  one  shilling."  Some  facilities  were 
also  offered  for  reading  and  conversation.  The  Bath  Journal 
of  January  7th,  1764,  contains  an  announcement  by  a  fan 
maker  that  he  has  opened  a  shop  at  Bath  for  ladies  to  read 
the  newspapers,  **  as  at  the  Ladies^  Tea  Room  at  the  Hot- 
wells,  at  half  a  crown  the  season.'^  One  Robert  Goadsby,  a 
bookseller,  had,  in  1743,  a  shop  at  the  Hotwells  and  another 
at  Bath,  which  were  alternately  opened  for  the  respective 
seasons.  Later  on,  a  firm  of  London  lace  dealers  brought 
down  their  wares  to  tempt  the  fashionable  throng  in  Dowry 
Square.  "  Lappet  heads  from  6  gs.  a  pair,  to  100.  Ruffles 
for  gentlemen  from  2  to  16  guineas.'^  The  great  charm  of 
Hot  Well  life  seems  to  have  been  its  cheapness  and  simpli- 
city. A  Mr.  Owen,  who  published  *^  Observations  on  the 
Earths,  &c.,  for  some  miles  about  Bristol,"  in  1764,  states 
that  riding  on  Durdham  Down  was  very  popular,  and  that 
*'  the  best  lady  attending  the  Hot  Well  will  not  refuse  riding 
behind  a  man,  for  such  is  the  custom  of  the  country.  Num- 
bers of  what  they  call  double  horses  are  kept  for  that  pur- 
pose." Many  gentlemen  repaired  to  the  well  on  horseback, 
and  paid  a  penny  for  the  accommodation  of  their  nags  in  a 
stable  near  to  the  spring.  Several  small  private  baths  were 
then  open  for  the  use  of  the  visitors.  **  No  price,"  adds  Mr. 
Owen,  **  is  paid  for  the  water  :  all  the  expense  is  that  every 
one  when  he  goes  away  makes  a  present  to  the  master,  and 
a  trifle  to  be  divided  amongst  the  servants."  It  is  some- 
what remarkable  that  the  popularity  of  Clifton  in  fashion- 
able circles  deterred  rather  than  encouraged  the  migration 
of  Bristolians.  Amongst  Mr.  Seyer's  MSS.  (Jefferies  Collec- 
tion) is  a  note  stating  that  *'  About  1760,  out  of  about  twenty 
houses  of  which  Clifton  [on  the  hill]  then  consisted,  eleven 
were  to  be  let  or  sold  at  one  time."  Even  about  1780,  accord- 
ing to  the  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Richard  Smith,  the  eminent 
surgeon,  the  upper  class  dwellings  scarcelj^  exceeded  thirty. 


24G  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1743. 

Desertions  were  at  this  time  very  common  in  the  army. 
Probably  to  strike  terror  in  the  ranks,  a  youth  named  John 
Partington,  nineteen  years  of  age,  was  shot  on  Clifton  Down 
on  the  11th  July,  1743,  for  this  offence.  The  firing  party 
on  the  occasion  was  entirely  composed  of  men  who  had  been 
deserters. 

The  mind  of  the  Corporation  was  much  exercised  about 
this  time  by  the  attempt  of  two  obscure  persons  to  establish 
a  ferry  between  Temple  Back  and  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
Avon,  in  rivalry  with  the  ancient  ferry  there,  known  as 
Bathavon,  from  which  the  civic  body  derived  the  large 
yearly  rental  of  £137.  The  intruders  persisting  in  their 
enterprise,  an  action  at  law  was  raised  against  them,  which 
was  brought  to  trial  at  Salisbury  in  July,  1743.  An  im- 
posing procession  of  corporate  functionaries,  in  four  coaches, 
guarded  by  seven  horses,  some  of  which  bore  two  men,  set 
off  for  the  capital  of  Wiltshire.  The  party,  twenty-one  in 
number,  accomplished  a  journey  of  about  fifty-five  miles  in 
two  days,  making  many  halts  for  refreshment.  Having 
proved  the  corporate  rights,  and  obtained  a  verdict  against 
the  interlopers,  the  civic  agents  returned  in  triumph,  but  in 
the  same  deliberate  fashion  that  had  marked  their  outset, 
and  doubtless  congratulated  themselves  that  only  one  of  the 
coaches  broke  down  during  the  journey.  The  travelling 
expenses  incurred,  including  a  guinea  to  a  Salisbury  barber 
for  shaving  and  powdering,  amounted  to  about  £80.  The 
coach  hire  was  '25s.  a  day  for  each  vehicle,  and  2s,  a  day 
(the  customary  charge  of  the  time)  was  paid  for  the  hire  of 
each  horse. 

The  harvest  of  1743  was  one  of  the  finest  ever  known  in 
the  district.  In  a  letter  of  Mr.  George  Knight,  of  Canning- 
ton,  to  Mr.  Gore,  of  Bourton  ( Jefferies  Collection),  it  is  stated 
that  wheat  was  selling  in  September  for  2.'?.  6d.  and  barley 
for  Is.  6d.  per  bushel  in  his  local  market,  and  that  most 
people  thought  it  would  be  cheaper.  The  effects  on  local 
enterprise  will  be  noticed  presently.  The  writer  also  men- 
tions a  fact  in  connection  with  his  family  which,  though  not 
bearing  on  Bristol  history,  is  amusingly  illustrative  of  the 
time  : — "  My  cousin  Steare  have  a  living  about  eight  miles 
from  here,  called  Lympson  (otherwise  Kill  Priest),  worth 
£120  or  £140  a  yeare,  given  to  him  by  the  lat^  Ld.  Pawlett 
for  voteing  for  a  Mare  at  Bridgwater.''  (The  parliamentary 
elections  in  that  borough,  one  of  the  most  corrupt  in  England, 
were  powerfully  influenced  by  the  corporation.) 

The  completion  of  the  Exchange — delayed  until  nearly  all 


1743.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  2i7 

the  original  promoters  of  the  building  had  found  a  more 
durable  shelter  from  temporal  discomiorts — was  at  length 
accomplished  in  the  autumn  of  1743,  and  the  structure  was 
opened  with  great  civic  pomp  on  the  21st  September.  A 
grand  procession  was  formed  at  the  Guildhall,  in  which  a 
new  functionary,  styled  the  Exchange  Keeper,  **  in  a  very 
handsome  dress  with  a  noble  Staff  in  his  hand,"  made  a 
conspicuous  figure.  (The  *^  silver  head  and  ferrel "  of  the 
noble  instrument  had  cost  £9  IB.9.)  Then  came  the  city 
ojB&cers,  the  mayor  and  the  mayor  elect,  followed  by  the  rest 
of  the  Corporation,  the  members  of  the  Society  of  Merchants, 
and  forty-eight  private  carriages.  The  pageant,  which  W8ts 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  made  its  way  by  High 
Street  and  the  Back  to  Queen  Square  and  the  Quays,  where 
it  was  cheered  by  the  sight  of  what  Mr.  Wood,  the  architect, 
terms  "  a  glorious  object" — the  Princess  Augusta  privateer 
(some  of  whose  exploits  have  been  already  reciorded),  then 
undergoing  repair  after  four  victorious  engagements  with 
the  Spaniards.  After  a  couple  of  hours*  perambulation,  the 
procession  reached  the  Exchange,  where  speeches  were 
made  extolling  the  munificent  public  spirit  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, and  the  Exchange  was  then  formally  opened  amidst 
the  salutes  of  cannon  and  popular  acclamations.  As  the  gun- 
powder burnt  on  the  occasion  cost  £20  18s.  6d.  there  can 
have  been  no  lack  of  uproar,  but  the  **  scramble  for  money," 
liberally  strewn  about  by  many  gentlemen  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  ceremony,  was  much  more  attractive  to  the  assembled 
multitude.  To  commemorate  the  day,  the  poor  debtors  in 
Newgate  were  liberated  by  a  corporate  subscription,  the 
leading  trade  companies  and  the  citizens  generally  were 
regaled  with  wine,  the  inmates  of  the  almshouses  were  not 
forgotten,  and  the  mayor  gave  a  mighty  banquet  to  his 
civic  colleagues  and  the  Merchants'  Society.  Mr.  Wood, 
from  whose  elaborate  report  these  leading  incidents  have 
been  culled,  concludes  by  observing  that  if  further 
**  pageantry  had  been  thought  necessary  the  public  had 
certainly  been  gratified  with  it :  But  what  pageantry  could 
illustrate  a  sober  procession  of  the  magistrates  and  whole 
collective  trading  body  of  a  city  that  pays  the  Government 
a  Custom  for  their  goods  of  above  £160,000  a  year? "  The 
building  involved  an  outlay  of  nearly  £50,000.  In  view  of 
alterations  made  in  it  in  our  own  time,  it  should  be  stated 
that  Wood's  original  design  contemplated  a  large  **  Egyptian 
Hall "  in  the  centre  of  the  Exchange,  capable  of  receiving 
600  persons ;  but  some  influential  citizens  disapproved  of  the 


248  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1743. 

novelty  of  a  covered  building  for  mercantile  gatherings,  and 
the  hall  was  consequently  "  turned  into  a  peristyle,  with 
very  wide  inter-column iations,''  and  made  capable  of  hold- 
ing 1,440  persons.  Hotels  then  being  the  favourite  resort 
of  merchants  and  traders  (there  were  more  than  twenty 
clustered  around  the  Royal  Exchange  in  London),  the  front 
of  the  Bristol  structure  was  fitted  up  for  two  such  places  of 
accommodation,  respectively  styled  the  Exchange  Tavern 
and  the  Exchange  Coifee  House. 

On  the  night  of  the  27th  October,  1743,  a  murder  which 
created  great  local  excitement  was  committed  near  Redland 
Court,  on  the  road  leading  from  Stoke's  Croft  to  Durdham 
Down.  A  farmer,  named  Winter,  of  Charlton,  had  gone  to 
Bristol  market  that  morning  with  some  cattle,  and  two  men, 
named  Andrew  Burnet  and  Henry  Payne,  who  had  been 
comrades  in  a  cavalry  regiment,  anticipating  that  he  would 
return  with  the  price  of  the  animals  in  his  pocket,  resolved 
on  his  murder  and  robbery.  Through  some  circumstance, 
the  farmer  remained  in  the  city  for  the  night,  but  Richard 
Ruddle,  coachman  to  Sir  Robert  Cann,  Bart.,  of  Stoke 
Bishop,  who  also  had  been  in  Bristol,  was  mistaken  for 
Winter  by  the  two  ruflGlans,  who  attacked  him  with  such 
brutality  that  he  died  shortly  afterwards.  The  only  fruits 
of  the  crime  were  a  watch  and  a  few  trifling  articles.  Some 
time  elapsed  before  a  clue  to  the  murderers  could  be  obtained. 
At  length  one  day  a  man  entered  the  shop  of  a  watchmaker 
in  Castle  Street,  produced  the  missing  watch,  and  requested 
the  tradesman  (said  to  have  been  the  maker  of  the  article) 
to  repair  it.  Being  questioned,  he  stated  that  he  had  just 
bought  it  from  two  men  in  a  public-house ;  and  whilst  he 
was  being  taken  by  a  constable  to  the  tavern  in  question,  he 
recognised  Burnet  and  Payne  in  Stoke's  Croft,  and  assisted 
in  their  arrest.  The  murderers  were  tried  at  the  ensxiing 
county  assizes,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  and  gibbeted  on 
Durdham  Down.  As  an  additional  punishment,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, they  were  first  taken  to  Cirencester,  to  witness  the 
execution  of  another  murderer,  condemned  at  the  same 
assizes.  On  the  22nd  March,  1744,  they  were  conveyed 
through  the  city  to  the  place  where  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted, and  their  sentence  was  afterwards  carried  out,  says 
the  Oracle,  "  in  the  presence  of  the  most  numerous  assem- 
bly of  people  of  all  ranks  that  ever  were  seen  together  on 
such  an  occasion."  They  were  hung  in  chains  at  what  is 
now  called  the  Sea  Walls,  so  that  their  bodies  might  be  seen 
from  passing  vessels.    In  the  following  April,  the  two  bodies 


1743-44.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTUEY.  249 

were  removed  by  (it  was  supposed)  a  party  of  Irishmen,  but 
were  found  amongst  the  rocks,  and  replaced. 

The  Gloucester  Journal  of  November  8th,  1743,  contains  a 
lengthy  account,  by  a  Bristol  correspondent,  of  what  he 
clearly  believed  to  be  an  abominable  case  of  witchcraft.  A 
poor  cobbler  living  in  Horse  (Host)  Street,  he  says,  had  im- 
prudently called  a  woman  in  the  neighbourhood  *'  an  old 
witch,''  whereupon  she  sent  a  cat  to  his  house,  which  seized 
his  finger  while  he  was  attempting  to  drive  it  out,  and 
would  not  loosen  its  hold  until  it  was  squeezed  to  death. 
The  man  was  dipped  nine  times  in  salt  watef  at  Sea  Mills, 
but  the  counter-cnarm  was  not  successful,  and  he  died  in 
great  agony. 

A  brief  extract  from  the  minutes  of  Temple  vestry,  dated 
the  30th  December,  evidently  refers  to  some  recent  pi^oceed- 
ing  of  the  incumbent.  The  clerk  is  requested  to  inform  the 
reverend  gentleman  that,  "  as  we  allow  him  £4  a  year  for 
the  use  of  the  churchyard,  he  shall  have  no  right  or  leave  to 
feed  horses,  sheep,  or  cattle  of  any  sort  in  that  place." 

A  terrible  fire  at  Crediton,  Devon,  which  destroyed  a 
great  part  of  the  town,  occurred  at  this  time,  and  excited 
much  sympathy  in  Bristol  for  the  unfortunate  sufferers.  A 
public  subscription,  started  for  their  relief,  produced  the 
large  sum  of  £887  13s.  Id, 

War  was  proclaimed  against  France  in  April,  1744,  with 
the  usual  ceremonies.  The  copious  harvest  of  the  preceding 
year  had  partially  revived  the  clothing  trade  as  well  as 
other  industries  of  the  city,  and  vigorous  measures  were 
taken  to  repulse  the  expected  attacks  of  "  our  national 
enemies."  The  Corporation  forwarded  a  petition  to  the 
King,  praying  for  the  protection  of  the  African  slave  trade, 
described  in  the  memorial  as  the  most  valuable  branch  of 
local  commerce,  and  appealing  for  an  additional  naval  force 
to  safeguard  local  ships  from  the  insults  of  foreign  privateers, 
which  swarmed  in  and  near  the  Bristol  Channel.  The  mer- 
cantile interest,  having  lost  many  vessels,  thought  it  advi- 
sable to  take  active  steps  for  self-defence,  and  started  a 
subscription  for  fitting  out  an  additional  fleet  of  armed 
cruisers.  Ninety  Bristolians  at  once  offered  £100  each. 
Other  privateers  were  built  or  purchased  by  private  co- 
partnerships. Amongst  the  finest  and  largest  of^the  Bristol 
ships  were  the  Southwell,  of  400  tons,  carrying  24  guns  and 
200  men  ;  the  Bristol,  550  tons,  with  38  guns  and  a  crew  of 
300 ;  the  Leviathan,  28  guns,  260  men  ;  the  Rover,  24  guns, 
210  men ;    and   the   Tovvnshend,   22   guns  and    180  men. 


250  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1744. 

Many  others  were  quickly  equipped.  (Liverpool  fitted  out 
only  three.)  Most  of  the  privateers  that  put  to  sea  imme- 
diately after  the  declaration  of  war  were  very  successful,  and 
from  time  to  time  the  harbour  was  the  scene  of  tumultuous 
enthusiasm.  The  Southwell  captured  eight  prizes  during 
the  first  four  months  of  her  career.  The  Constantine  made 
three  prizes  in  as  many  weeks,  the  last  being  valued  at 
£14,00C).  The  Queen  of  Hungary  took  a  ship  with  a  cargo 
worth  £20,OCK3 ;  the  Prince  Charles  snapped  up  two  French 
Greenlanders,  with  seven  whales;  and  the  King  William 
returned  again  and  again  with  valuable  booty.  Large 
sums  were  thus  distributed  amongst  the  privateering  crews 
(who  generally'  had  no  regular  pay),  and  as  the  money  was 
scattered  as  lightly  as  it  came,  scenes  of  dissipation  were  of 
every-day  occurrence.  "  Nothing  is  to  be  seen  here,"  says  a 
Bristol  paragraph  in  the  Gloucester  Journal  of  September 
4th,  "  but  rejoicings  for  the  great  number  of  French  prizes 
brought  in.  Our  sailors  are  in  the  highest  spirits,  full  of 
money,  and  spend  their  whole  time  in  carousing  .  .  . 
dressed  out  with  Laced  Hats,  Tassels,  Swords  with  Sword 
Knots,  and  in  short  all  things  that  can  give  them  an  oppor- 
tunity to  spend  their  money."  In  the  meantime,  many 
hundreds  of  French  prisoners  were  thrust  into  Bed  minster 
Bridewell.  As  the  piivateersmen  were  exempt  from  em- 
pressment,  many  adventurous  landsmen  enrolled  themselves, 
and  the  Government  were  driven  to  strange  shifts  to  secure 
men  for  the  regular  forces.  All  the  able-bodied  felons  were 
swept  out  of  the  gaols,  more  than  a  thousand  being  caught 
up  in  London  alone  ;  while  crimps  and  press  gangs  scoured 
the  country,  especially  the  fairs,  and  dealt  ruthlessly  with 
the  lower  class  of  labourers.  A  Bristol  paper  of  April  28th 
states  that  at  Witney  fair  a  quack  doctor's  Merry  Andrew, 
a  then  popular  buffoon,  was  impressed  from  off  the  stage, 
whilst  the  quack  himself  escaped  onlj^  by  flight.  Returning 
to  the  Bristol  privateers,  one  or  two  instances  of  their  dash- 
ing bravery  deserve  to  be  recorded.  In  May,  1744,  the 
Vulture,  of  14  guns  and  130  men,  when  cruising  off  the 
Spanish  coast,  captured  an  English  merchantman,  which 
had  been  taken  a  few  days  before  by  a  Spanish  privateer. 
One  of  the  sailors  left  by  the  captors  in  their  prize  informed 
the  captain  of  the  Vulture  that  two  other  large  vessels 
belonging  to  Bristol  had  been  taken  by  the  same  Spaniards, 
who  had  put  both  cargoes  on  board  one  of  the  ships — the 
Dursley — and  had  sent  the  latter  into  a  little  harbour  near 
Finisterre.     The  Vulture  forthwith  sailed  for  that  place, 


k 


1744.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  251 

which  was  entered  bj''  a  boat's  crew  during  the  night,  and 
whilst  the  Spaniards  were  carousing  in  the  Dursley,  the 
vessel  was  attacked  and  captured,  and  finally  carried  into 
Kinsale,  with  many  of  the  Spanish  crew  still  on  board. 
The  double  cargo,  consisting  of  African  and  West  Indian 
produce,  was  of  great  value.  Unfortunately,  the  Vulture, 
whilst  returning  to  Bristol,  was  herself  captured  by  a 
French  privateer  of  greatly  superior  armament,  after  a  long 
and  desperate  struggle.  The  following  paragraph  referring 
to  the  Tryall  privateer,  which  will  be  heard  of  again,  occurs 
in  a  local  journal  of  November  3rd.  "  This  week  the  Tryall 
privateer  sent  in  the  Prime  Minister  privateer  of  London,  of 
22  ninepounders,  which  had  been  taken  by  five  French  men 
of  war,  but  which  the  Tryall  afterwards  retook,  in  the 
sight  of  the  said  men  of  war."  The  Tryall  had  only  16 
guns,  and  a  crew  of  120  men.  The  greatest  local  disaster 
of  the  year  occurred  in  July  to  the  privateer  Somerset,  of  12 
guns  and  90  men.  The  ship,  which  had  just  been  fitted  out, 
capsized  off  the  Holmes,  and  only  ten  of  the  crew  were 
saved. 

Down  to  the  year  1744,  the  "  town  dues  "  payable  upon 
goods  imported  into  Bristol  were  not  paid  into  the  city 
treasury,  but  were  received  by  the  sheriffs,  and  expended, 
for  the  most  part,  in  a  round  of  entertainments  given  by 
those  functionaries  during  their  year  of  office.  As  the  trade 
of  the  port,  and  consequently  the  income  from  the  dues, 
steadily  increased,  the  necessity  of  altering  this  arrangement 
became  urgent ;  and  on  the  22nd  August,  1744,  the  Common 
Council  resolved  that  the  dues  should  thenceforth  be  received 
by  the  chamberlain,  whilst  the  sheriffs  should  be  allowed  a 
fixed  sum  of  £665  15.«?.  3d.  yearly.  As  it  was  notorious  that 
the  average  expenditure  had  greatly  exceeded  the  proposed 
allowance,  the  Chamber  further  determined  that  the  *'  great 
dinner,''  ''the  count  (account?)  dinner,^'  and  the  supper 
"  between  election  and  swearing  day ''  should  be  abolished. 
Two  dinners  to  the  judges  of  assize,  two  to  the  recorder,  and 
two  to  the  Corporation  were  retained.  The  new  arrange- 
ment was  distasteful  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
Council,  who  refused  to  accept  the  shrievalty  on  the  new 
term?*.  Two  gentlemen  were  induced,  however,  to  serve  a 
second  time,  and  the  opposition  afterwards  died  away. 

At  a  Council  meeting  in  November,  a  document  signed  by 
the  town  clerk,  William  Cann,  was  read,  intimating  that  in 
consequence  of  indisposition  he  had  deputed  his  clerk,  John 
Michel,  to  perform  certain  acts,  and  requesting  the  Chamber 


252  THK    ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL  [1744-45. 

to  appoint  a  permanent  deputy,  which  was  done.  The 
town  clerk,  in  fact,  was  insane,  and  by  a  strange  coinci- 
dence Michel  also  became  deranged  a  few  months  later. 
Mr.  Cann,  who  was  probably  the  first  member  of  the  civic 
body  who  took  up  a  permanent  residence  at  Clifton,  became 
a  baronet  on  the  death  of  his  elder  brother  in  1748.  He  died 
at  his  suburban  residence  in  March,  1763. 

A  somewhat  puzzling  item  appears  in  one  of  the  corpo- 
rate **  bargain  books,''  under  the  date,  6th  November,  1744. 
It  is  as  follows: — "Agreed  between  the  Mayor  and  the 
Surveyors  of  the  City  Lands,  and  John  Blackwell,  of  the 
city  of  Bristol,  gentleman,  that  in  consideration  of  paying 
the  yearly  rent  and  performing  the  covenants  following 
He  shall  hold  and  enjoy  the  profits  arising  from  the  Income 
of  Wheelage  within  this  city  according  to  the  antient  usage 
and  custome,  for  one  whole  year,  to  commence  the  29th 
September  last,  at  and  under  the  yearly  rent  of  Fifteen 
Pounds  de  claro^  The  following  note  is  appended  : — "  Not 
to  be  made  in  a  lease."  The  peculiarity  of  the.  matter  is 
that  no  receipts  from  wheelage  have  been  found  recorded 
before  the  date  of  this  agreement,  and  no  payments  appear 
in  later  years.  Presumably,  the  object  of  the  municipality 
was  to  revive  a  long  obsolete  toll  of  threepence  per  cart  or 
wagon  passing  the  city  gates.  Bat  in  a  description  of 
Bristol  published  in  the  London  Magazine  of  May,  1749,  the 
writer  speaks  of  the  narrowness  of  the  thoroughfares, 
''through  which  the  goods  are  conveyed  on  sledges,  no 
carts  being  permitted  to  come  into  the  city." 

''  The  Bed  Book  of  Orders "  was  again  revised  by  a 
committee  of  the  Chamber  in  the  closing  months  of  1744. 
On  the  19th  December  this  body  recommended  the  omission 
of  some  obsolete  regulations,  and  the  insertion  of  others 
adopted  since  the  revision  of  1703.  Their  report  was 
adopted,  and  a  new  Red  Book,  on  vellum,  was  ordered  to  be 
made  for  the  use  of  the  mayor  for  the  time  being,  with 
another  copy,  on  paper,  for  the  town  clerk's  office. 

Through  the  growth  of  population  and  the  increase  of 
pauperism  caused  by  the  war,  the  maximum  amount  of  poor 
rates  granted  under  the  Act  of  1714  no  longer  sufficed  to 
meet  the  expenditure.  The  guardians,  who  were  heavily 
indebted  to  the  Corporation  and  to  their  treasurer,  resolved 
on  applying  to  Parliament  for  additional  powers,  and  besought 
the  help  of  the  Council.  The  latter  body  appears  to  have 
suspected  improper  practices  on  the  part  of  the  Tory  ma- 
jority at  St.  Peter's  Hospital.     A  committee  reported  to  the 


1745.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  253 

• 

Chamber  on  the  16th  January,  1745,  that  in  consequence 
of  the  constitution  of  the  poor  law  board  "  there  is  too  much 
room  left  for  oppression  and  partiality,  and  for  an  undue 
application  of  the  great  sums  yearly  raised."  It  was  there- 
fore suggested  that  a  clause  should  be  introduced  into  the 
intended  Bill,  empowering  ratepayers  to  make  inquiries  as 
to  how  the  poor  rates  were  applied,  and  also  authorising  the 
magistrates  to  hear  complaints  of  the  poor,  and  to  order 
relief  irrespective  of  the  guardians.  The  latter  opposed  this 
inroad  on  their  rights,  which  was  ultimately  abandoned, 
and  an  Act  was  soon  afterwards  obtained,  raising  the  maxi- 
mum yearly  rate  from  £3,500  to  £4,500,  the  board  being 
permitted  to  levy  £500  extra  for  four  years  to  clear  off  its 
debts.  The  Common  Council  defrayed  the  cost  of  the 
statute  (£167  10.s\).  A  few  years  later — in  1758 — the  ab- 
surdity of  fixing  a  maximum  rate  in  a  constantly  increasing 
community  being  at  length  recognised,  another  Act  was 
obtained,  empowering  the  collection  of  such  a  sum  yearly 
as  would  meet  the  expenditure  of  the  guardians. 

New  ordinances  respecting  the  meetings  of  the  Common 
Council  were  made  by  that  body  on  the  2nd  March,  1746. 
Any  member  failing  to  attend  was  ordered  to  forfeit  bs, ; 
those  who  did  not  appear  at  11  o'clock  in  the  morning,  or 
came  into  the  chamber  without  gowns,  to  pay  1^.  The  fines 
were  to  be  applied  to  the  relief  of  indigent  vagrants.  The 
fine  of  £100  on  a  mayor  absent  from  the  city  for  more  than 
three  days  and  three  nights  was  retained,  but  the  words 
were  added,  *^  without  leave  of  the  Common  Council."  By 
a  subsequent  ordinance  a  fine  of  £10  was  imposed  on  any 
member  divulging  the  nature  of  a  debate  when  secrecy  had 
been  enjoined  during  the  sitting. 

On  the  28th  March,  1745,  the  new  market-house  erected 
behind  the  Exchange  for  the  sale  of  meat  and  vegetables 
was  opened  for  business,  and  gave  much  satisfaction,  a  local 
journalist  declaring  that  the  building  "  for  its  commodious- 
ness  and  beauty  exceeds  all  the  market  places  in  England." 
In  December,  1746,  the  open  markets  hitherto  held  in  Broad 
Street,  High  Street,  and  Wine  Street  were  suppressed,  and 
the  building  known  as  the  New  Market,  situated  in  an  alley 
between  Broad  Street  and  Tower  Lane,  was  converted  to 
other  purposes.  In  the  corporate  regulations  for  the  new 
building  it  was  ordered  that  retailers  of  meat  and  vege- 
tables should  not  resort  there  until  after  11  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  in  order  that  housekeepers  might  provide  them- 
selves at  iirst  hand  and  at  a  cheap  rate.    It  was  also  decreed 


254  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1745. 

tliat  farmers  and  others  should  not  liawk  meat,  bacon,  butter, 
or  cheese  from  door  to  door  (but  this  order  caused  so  much 
discontent  that  it  was  rescinded  in  1750).  A  third  regula- 
tion forbade  butchers  from  exposing  or  selling  meat  after 
8  o'clock  on  Saturday  evenings.  A  penalty  of  10^.  was 
enforced  against  many  tradesmen  for  disobeying  this  order, 
the  Butchers'  Company  being  active  in  bringing  up  oflFen- 
ders.  In  1756  a  man  was  fined  10*-.  for  exposing  poultry  in 
the  market  before  8  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

That  industrious  chronicler  of  English  maritime  events, 
Lloyd's  List,  published  the  following  news  from  Bristol  on 
the  9th  April,  1745 : — "  The  Falcon  privateer  drove  ashore 
the  5th  inst.  in  Kingroad,  and  soon  fill'd  and  overflowed 
even  to  the  main  top.  She  is  since  drove  up  Bristol  River, 
where  she  now  lyes  across,  so  that  no  ship  can  get  in  or 
out."  The  Falcon  was  still  Ij^ing  a  dangerous  wreck  on  the 
1st  May,  when  the  Common  Council  appointed  a  committee 
to  secure  the  removal  of  the  obstruction.  The  ultimate  fate 
of  the  privateer  is  not  recorded. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  May,  1745,  a  committee, 
that  had  been  previously  appointed  to  inspect  certain 
**  nuisances  "  —  apparently  shoals  —  obstructing  the  course 
of  the  Avon  at  Hungroad,  reported  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  take  measures  for  their  removal.  The  modesty 
of  the  provisions  recommended  for  this  purpose  now  seems 
somewhat  ludicrous.  "  The  cost  of  a  vessel  that  will  carry 
35  tons  "  is  estimated  at  £25 ;  "  a  boat,  with  a  pair  of  oars, 
second  hand,  £3  10^. ;  "  .  .  .  **  If  the  sand  &c.  that 
shall  be  taken  up  be  delivered  in  Kingroad  then  the  vessel 
wUl  want  a  mast  and  sail,  which  will  cost  £20."  *'  One  pair 
of  iron  tongs  to  take  up  large  stones  that  are  sunk,"  figure 
for  18s.  8d,  The  fitting  up  of  the  vessel,  cables,  etc.,  raised 
the  total  cost  of  the  apparatus  to  £110.  As  to  working  ex- 
penses, an  "  engineer,"  engaged  in  London,  was  to  receive 
30.S*.,  a  waterman  18*\,  and  four  labourers  i2s,  each  weekly. 
The  committee  was  empowered  to  carry  out  the  improve- 
ment, which  was  effected  without  delay,  for  in  the  following 
July  the  chamberlain  records  the  receipt  of  £73  7s.  lOd. 
from  the  Merchants'  Company,  "  one  moiety  of  the  expense 
of  cleaning  Hungroad."  A  further  outlay  of  £155  in  Sep- 
tember, divided  in  the  same  manner,  completed  the  work. 
Besides  the  tongs,  afterwards  called  "skimmer  tongs," 
which  cost  26s.  6rf.,  the  charges  include  £10  12.s\  for  ''  aji 
engine,"  the  real  character  of  which  it  would  be  interesting 
to  discover. 


17*45.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  255 

Allusion  has  been  already  made  to  the  corporate  jaunts 
into  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  holding  courts  in  the 
manors  belonging  to  the  city.  It  would  be  tedious  to  note 
the  expenditure  incurred  on  such  occasions,  but  the  items 
in  June,  1745,  when  the  deputy  town  clerk  and  the  chamber- 
lain visited  Stockland  Bristol,  mention  an  unprecedented 
provision  for  sobriety.  The  officials  provided  themselves 
with  a  quart  of  rum  and  several  gallons  of  wine,  but  their 
stock  also  included  "  six  bottles  of  Hot  Well  water,"  which 
cost  1.9.  6d,  The  carriage  of  water  for  festive  purposes  was 
probably  afflicting  to  civic  economists,  for  the  item,  after 
being  reduced  one  half  in  a  later  year,  at  last  disappeared. 
Another  charge  on  this  occasion  was  6*'.  lOd.  for  "  mending 
a  male  pillion,"  so  that  the  excursionists  must  have  travelled 
on  horseback  in  a  very  sociable  fashion. 

Prodigious  excitement  was  created  in  the  city  on  the  8th 
September  by  the  arrival  of  two  London  privateers  in  King- 
road,  with  treasure  captured  from  two  French  merchant- 
men valued  at  upwards  of  £750,000.  The  two  privateers, 
the  Prince  Frederick  and  the  Duke,  sailed  from  Cowes  in 
June,  in  company  with  a  consort  named  the  Prince  George, 
which  soon  afterwards  foundered.  A  month  later,  near  the 
American  coast,  they  encountered  three  French  ships,  from 
Callao,  and  after  a  resolute  fight,  in  which  two  of  the 
French  commanders  were  killed,  the  Englishmen  captured 
two  of  their  opponents,  the  other  escaping  by  flight.  The 
masts  of  the  prizes  being  shot  away,  the  conquerors  had  to 
tow  them  across  the  Atlantic.  The  cargoes  consisted  of 
1,093  chests  of  silver  bullion,  weighing  2,644,922  oz.,  besides 
a  quantity  of  gold  and  silver  wrought  plate,  and  other  valu- 
ables. The  treasure  was  conveyed  to  London  in  twenty- 
two  wagons,  each  guarded  by  armed  sailors  on  horseback. 
Its  arrival  in  the  capital  and  removal  to  the  Mint  caused  a 
great  sensation,  and  kindled  a  fresh  passion  for  privateering 
enterprises.  The  shipowners  raised  to  opulence  by  this 
lucky  adventure  begrudged  the  crews  their  share  of  the 
booty.  Most  of  the  men  were  kidnapped  and  sent  to  un- 
healthy countries  or  on  board  men  of  war,  and  many  of 
their  children,  though  entitled  to  large  sums,  were  reduced 
to  pauperism.  A  portion  of  the  money  to  which  they  were 
entitled  was  paid  into  the  Court  of  Chancery,  where  it 
probably  now  forms  part  of  the  .unclaimed  funds. 

The  lauding  of  the  "  Young  Pretender  "  in  Scotland  seems 
to  have  caused  little  excitement  in  the  south  and  west  of 
England.     The  defeat  of  Cope,  at  the  close  of  September, 


256  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1745. 

however,  gave  a  prodigious  shock  to  the  equanimity  of  the 
country,  and  the  Government,  in  intense  alarm,  made 
appeals  for  assistance.  On  the  6th  October,  in  compliance 
with  a  summons  issued  by  the  Earl  of  Berkeley'',  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, who  had  already  hurried  to  the  city,  the  principal 
merchants  waited  upon  his  lordship  at  the  Merchants*  Hall, 
to  consider  the  best  means  of  raising  a  body  of  troops  for 
the  defence  of  the  Crown.  On  the  9th  a  general  meeting 
was  held  in  the  Guildhall,  the  mayor  presiding,  when  a  letter 
was  read  from  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  expressing  the  satis- 
faction of  the  King  at  the  zeal  and  loyalty  displayed  by  the 
city,  and  enclosing  a  warrant  authorising  the  mayor  to  enroll 
volunteer  forces,  and  appoint  officers  to  command  them 
(State  Papers).  An  **  Association "  was  thereupon  estab- 
lished for  the  support  of  the  common  cause,  when  the  maj^or 
(authorised  by  an  informal  meeting  of  the  Council)  sub- 
scribed £10,000  in  the  name  of  the  Corporation,  while  £5,000 
were  offered  by  the  Merchants'  Society.  The  aldermen  sub- 
scribed from  £500  to  £100  each,  and  many  gentlemen  and 
merchants  from  £300  to  £100.  The  mayor,  writing  to  the 
Duke  on  the  14th,  announced  that  nearly  £30,000  had  been 
already  promised,  and  that  the  fund  was  increasing  daily 
(State  Pagers).  The  amount  raised  in  Liverpool  was  only 
£6,0(X),  and  in  Hull  £1,800.  An  uncommon  ardour,  sajs 
the  Bristol  Journal,  was  shown  by  the  common  people  in 
martialling  themselves  into  companies  to  leani  the  art  of 
war,  and  Lord  Berkeley  succeeded  in  forming  a  new  regi- 
ment. In  the  meantime  the  magistrates  bethought  them- 
selves of  the  peril  arising  from  the  vast  quantity  of  gun- 
powder stored  at  Tower  Harritz,  and  orders  were  given  for 
the  removal  of  the  magazine  to  Portishead  Creek.  In  the 
iftidst  of  the  excitement,  the  Bristol  privateer  Tryall  brought 
into  Kingroad  a  Spanish  prize  of  12  guns,  containing  gold 
and  silver  coin  to  the  value  of  £6,000,  a  quantity  of  muskets, 
bayonets,  and  cartridges,  and  100  barrels  of  gunpowder. 
A  box  of  papers  was  thrown  overboard  before  the  ship  sur- 
rendered, but  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  cargo  was  des- 
tined for  the  Pretender.  On  the  30th  October,  the  King's 
birthday,  the  influential  citizens  were  entertained  at  the 
Council  House,  where,  says  the  Whig  Oracle,  *^  all  the  loyal 
toasts  were  drank  under  salvos  of  small  arms,  and  the  glass 
went  round  with  an  uncommon  cheerfulness  and  gaiety ; 
the  populace  being  at  the  same  time  entertained  hy  bonfires, 
illuminations,  and  liquor  in  great  abundance.'*  But  in  the 
following   week  the   anniversary  of   the   Gunpowder   Plot 


1745.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  257 

gaye  the  inhabitants  a  better  opportunity  of  venting  their 
enthusiasm.  The  effigies  of  the  Pope  and  the  Pretender 
were  carried  through  the  city  amidst  loud  acclamations, 
and  were  finally  burnt  on  a  vast  bonfire  in  College  Green. 
Jacobitism,  however,  was  by  no  means  extinct.  A  tavern 
keeper  in  Broadmead  was  committed  to  Newgate  for  drink- 
ing the  Young  Pretender's  health,  and  declaring  him  lawful 
heir  to  the  throne.  A  more  exciting  case  occurred  on  the 
14tli  November,  the  facts  of  which,  unknown  to  local 
chroniclers,  are  preserved  amongst  the  State  Papers.  One 
Robert  Burges,  a  Bristol  baker,  deposed  before  the  magis- 
trates that,  about  three  weeks  previously,  being  in  want 
of  about  £35,  and  stating  the  fact  to  "  Joseph  Rendall, 
founder  "  (probably  the  Randall  already  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  figure  of  Neptune),  the  latter  told  him  he 
knew  a  person  who  would  lend  him  £B0  or  £100,  provided 
he  would  be  a  friend  to  the  High  Church  Club,  which  met 
at  the  White  Lion.  Rendall  promised,  moreover,  that  the 
baker  should  have  from  Gs.  to  I0.s*.  a  week  on  the  same  con- 
dition, adding  that  he  was  frequently  employed  by  Mr. 
"  Grerard "  [Jarrit]  Smith  in  carrying  weekly  allowances  to 
several  persons.  Rendall  further  stated  that  there  was  a 
stranger  in  Bristol  who  lodged  at  Mr.  Smith's  and  at  other 
houses  for  two  months,  and  was  then  at  Mr.  *'  Cousins' " 
[Cossins,  of  Redland  Court],  and  who  as  he  believed  was 
the  Pretender's  son.  Rendall  called  this  person  his  master, 
and  said  he  expected  every  day  to  hear  that  10,000  men 
were  landed  in  Cornwall.  The  illustrious  stranger  wore 
sometimes  a  black  and  sometimes  a  fair  wig,  and  disguised 
his  face  with  paint.  He  had  great  plenty  of  money,  having 
received  several  chests  of  English  coin  from  Holland. 
After  this  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  Mr.  Rendall  was 
soon  in  Newgate.  In  an  extraordinary  letter,  addressed  by 
him  to  James  Erskine,  Esq.,  of  London,  and  dated  the  6th 
December,  he  stated  that  he  had  been  thrice  examined  by 
the  justices,  and  had  made  certain  discoveries  respecting 
disaffected  people  in  Bristol.  He  had  been  pressed  to  name 
the  person  who  had  fixed  upon  the  Cathedral  door  a  papsr 
**  cursing  his  Majesty  "  [and  threatening  to  burn  down  the 
house  of  Mr.  Richard  Fair],  and  had  given  information 
respecting  a  man,  who  was  consequently  '^  kept  in  custody 
alone,  out  of  150  or  upward  that  had  been  arrested."  Other 
information  that  he  had  given  as  to  people  who  were  "  true 
to  their  King  and  country"  had,  however,  given  offence, 
and  as  he  was  then  kept  in  irons,  under  a  charge  of  perjury, 

s 


258  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1745-46. 

he  solicited  Mr.  Erskine's  assistance.  There  can  be  little 
question  that  the  latter  was  a  Jacobite ;  but  before  this  letter 
reached  London  the  back  of  the  rebellion  was  broken,  and 
he  discreetly  forwarded  the  letter  to  the  Government,  pro- 
fessing to  know  nothing  of  the  writer.  RendalFs  fate  is 
not  recorded.  (Randall,  of  Neptune  fame,  voted  at  the  local 
election  of  1754.)  Only  £2  lbs.  per  cent,  of  the  Bristol  sub- 
scriptions were  eventually  required,  the  sum  expended  by 
the  Corporation  being  £276.  Notwithstanding  the  crushing 
defeat  of  the  Pretender,  Jacobite  principles  were  still  cher- 
ished in  many  influential  families.  Ladies  were  especially 
fond  of  displaying  their  sympathies,  and  so  many  white  roses 
were  flaunted  in  the  city  on  the  10th  June,  1760,  as  to  pro- 
voke some  satirical  comments  in  the  press.  The  irritated 
Whigs  celebrated  the  next  anniversary  of  the  Revolution 
with  great  enthusiasm.  A  gay  procession  of  the  trading 
companies  accompanied  the  Corporation  to  the  Mayor's 
Chapel,  fireworks  were  played  off  before  the  Exchange  in 
the  evening,  and  Corn  Street  was  illuminated. 

In  the  archives  of  the  Bristol  Consistory  Court  is  a  curious 
document,  dated  November  18th,  1746,  signed  by  the  Rev. 
William  Gary,  vicar-general  of  the  bishopric,  granting  per- 
mission to  John  Coopey  to  practise  medicine  in  the  city, 
deanery,  and  diocese.  The  "  faculty  "  professes  to  be  granted 
in  consequence  of  Coopey's  lengthy  knowledge  of  medicine, 
and  of  the  proof  of  his  skill  offered  in  his  tract  on  diabetes. 
The  ecclesiastical  authorities  claimed  the  right  of  issuing 
licenses  of  this  character,  and  in  1 670  the  Chancellor  of  this 
diocese  attempted  to  force  all  the  "  chirurgeons  "  of  the  city 
to  take  out  a  license  from  him  to  practise ;  but  the  Cor- 
poration forbade  their  compliance,  and  undertook  to  defend 
them  against  the  clerical  aggressor,  who  discreetly  aban- 
doned his  pretensions.  (The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is  still 
entitled  to  confer  the  degree  of  M.D.  without  examination.) 

Early  in  the  session  of  1746,  the  Merchants'  Society  again 
petitioned  the  House  of  Commons  for  a  more  effective  pro- 
tection of  English  commerce,  asserting  that  if  measures 
were  not  taken  for  the  suppression  of  the  enemies'  priva- 
teers, it  would  be  impossible  for  Bristol  merchants  to  carry 
on  their  trade.  The  previous  year  had  been  a  very  disas- 
trous one  for  local  shipowners,  few  prizes  having  been 
captured  by  the  privateers,  whilst  some  of  the  finest  of 
those  vessels  had  been  caught  by  French  and  Spanish  men 
of  war.  During  the  spring,  however,  the  citizens  were 
cheered  by  a  brilliant  achievement  of  the  Alexander  priva- 


1746.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  259 

teer.  Whilst  at  sea  the  commander,  Captain  Philips, 
learned  that  H.M.S.  Solebay,  of  28  guns,  captured  by  a 
French  man  of  war,  was  being  fitted  out  in  St.  Martin's 
Bay,  near  Bordeaux,  to  convoy  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  to 
the  West  Indies.  Philips  having  determined  to  cut  out  the 
ship,  despatched  his  boats  to  the  spot  with  fifty  of  his  best 
men,  who  dashed  on  board  during  the  night,  overcame  the 
Frenchmen  on  deck  after  a  desperate  struggle,  cut  the 
cables,  and  carried  off  their  prize.  Philips  brought  the 
ship  safely  into  Kingroad,  with  200  of  the  Frenoh  crew 
prisoners.  For  his  gallant  action  he  received  a  present  of 
BOO  guineas  and  a  medal  of  £100  value  from  the  King.  A 
less  successful  but  still  more  heroic  affair  occurred  in  the 
following  June.  The  Tryall,  of  Bristol,  whose  exploits  have 
been  already  mentioned,  encountered  a  French  privateer 
carrying  24  guns  and  370  men,  whilst  the  former  had  only 
16  guns  and  130  men.  After  a  fiercely  fought  battle  of 
several  hours,  during  which  the  Tryall  had  most  of  her 
officers  killed  or  wounded,  she  was  compelled  to  strike,  but 
was  recaptured  soon  afterwards  by  an  English  man  of  war. 
The  greatest  success  of  the  year  was  that  of  "The  Royal 
Family '^  privateers,  belonging  to  a  London  copartnership, 
but  fitted  out  at  Bristol.  These  ships — the  Prince  Frederick 
and  the  Duke  (whose  immense  booty  in  the  previous  year 
has  just  been  recorded),  the  King  George  and  the  Princess 
Amelia — left  Kingroad  on  the  28th  April,  and  in  an  eight 
months'  cruise  captured  prizes  valued  at  £220,000.  On  this 
occasion  also,  the  crews,  about  826  in  number,  were  basely 
defrauded  by  their  employers.  The  men  had  been  promised 
15  guineas  a  head  before  sailing,  but  the  amount  was  reduced 
to  6  guineas,  which  caused  a  riotous  demonstration  in  the 
streets.  On  returning  with  their  booty,  great  numbers  of  the 
crew,  at  the  alleged  instigation  of  the  owners,  were  forced 
on  board  the  royal  navy,  and  never  received  their  prize 
money.  In  1749  some  of  the  sailors  (of  whom  many  were 
Bristolians)  filed  a  Bill  in  Chancery,  demanding  an  account ; 
and  in  1752  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  made  a  decree  in  their 
favour.  The  owners,  however,  raised  dilatory  pleas,  and 
the  plaintiffs  through  lack  of  means  were  unable  to  pursue 
their  claims  with  vigour.  Partial  hearings  took  place  in 
1783,  1789,  and  1799.  Finally  in  1810  Lord  Chancellor 
Eldon  said  he  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  allow  the  de- 
murrers raised  by  the  representatives  of  the  owners,  owing 
to  some  irregularities  in  the  plaintiffs'  Bill  (Papers  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  F.  G.  Powell). 


2G0  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1746. 

The  punctiliousness  of  the  civic  authorities  in  reference 
to  the  admission  of  persons  claiming  the  privileges  of  free- 
burgesses  is  exemplified  in  a  petition  laid  before  the  Council 
in  March,  1746.  The  applicant,  Jeremiah  Osborne,  solicitor, 
represented  that  his  father,  Joseph  Osborne,  shipwright,  was 
a  freeman,  but  had  removed,  shortly  before  the  petitioner's 
birth,  to  a  house  near  the  Limekilns  (Hotwell  Road).  This 
house  was  partly  in  the  city  and  partly  in  Grloucestershire, 
and  the  petitioner  was  "  unfortunately  born  in  that  part  of 
the  house  which  lyes  in  the  county,  but  the  room  in  which 
he  was  born  is  but  18  inches  or  thereabouts  out  of  the 
libertys  of  the  city,  and  the  chimney  projecting  from  the 
wall  is  partly  in  the  city."  After  a  grave  discussion,  the 
Chamber  relieved  Mr.  Osborne  of  his  disqualification,  and 
admitted  him  to  the  freedom  on  paying  the  ordinary  fees. 
At  the  next  meeting,  in  April,  a  fine  of  £62  10^^.  was  im- 
posed upon  the  freedom  applied  for  by  William  Hulme, 
a  retailer  of  tea.  Hulme  thought  the  charge  exorbitant, 
and  delayed  payment,  whereupon  he  was  prosecuted  for 
keeping  a  shop,  "  he  being  a  foreigner,"  and  was  fined  £6. 
He  then  availed  himself  of  an  expedient.  Mr.  John  Berrow 
had  served  as  mayor  in  1743-4,  but  had  not  exercised  his 
right  to  nominate  a  person  to  the  freedom,  and  was  since 
dead.  Hulme  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  ex-mayor's 
executor,  who,  on  receiving  £40,  claimed  and  was  allowed 
the  right  of  nominating  the  tea-dealer.  The  latter  then 
petitioned  for  the  return  of  his  £B,  in  which  he  was  also 
successful.  At  the  quarter  sessions  in  May  a  man  was 
charged  with  "  using  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith "  in  the 
city,  not  having  served  an  apprenticeship  for  seven  years. 
He  was  found  *^  guilty  for  a  month,"  and  was  fined  (amount 
unrecorded).  A  similar  case  and  sentence,  in  reference  to 
a  tin-plate  worker,  occurred  in  1748. 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  April  26th  announced  that  the 
summer  flying  coach  to  Gloucester  would  recommence 
running  on  the  following  Wednesday  at  B  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  perform  its  journeys,  "  if  God  permit,"  in  one 
day.  From  a  similar  advertisement  in  17B0  it  appears  that 
the  fare  was  8^.  A  summer  coach  between  Bath  and  Oxford, 
less  than  sixty  miles  apart,  spent  two  days  on  the  journey  in 
17B6. 

Dowry  Chapel,  Hotwells,  built  for  the  accommodation  of 
fashionable  visitors,  was  in  course  of  erection  in  May,  1746, 
when  that  indefatigable  antiquary,  the  Rev.  William  Cole, 
visited    the   place,    and,    with   his   customary    painstaking. 


1746.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  261 

jotted  down  the  outlay  that  had  been  incurred  (Ad.  MSS. 
British  Museum).  The  expenditure  could  scarcely  have 
been  more  modest: — "To  Mr.  Tully,  for  the  ground,  £60. 
Agreed  with  the  builder  for  what  is  already  erected  for 
£168.  For  ceiling  and  plaistering,  £20.  For  glasing  ye 
windows  £9  16^."  The  conveyance,  plans,  and  a  few  trifling 
items  raised  the  total  to  £269  6^.  id,  "laid  out  in  all." 

In  the  early  years  of  the  century  the  Stamp  Ofifice  for 
the  city  of  Bristol  and  county  of  Gloucester  was  established 
at  Gloucester,  under  the  superintendence  (from  1722)  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Worrall,  a  proctor.  The  arrangement  must 
have  been  inconvenient  to  Bristolians ;  and  when  WorralPs 
son,  also  named  Samuel,  removed  to  this  city  to  assist  in 
the  management  of  the  great  business  of  Mr.  Thomas  Fane, 
attorney,  Small  Street,  he  probably  acted  as  an  agent  in 
the  sale  of  stamps.  At  all  events,  on  the  death  of  the 
elder  Worrall,  in  1746,  the  Government,  consulting  local 
convenience,  appointed  his  son  distributor  for  Bristol  only, 
and  stamps  were  sold  at  Mr.  Fane's  house  until  December, 
1747,  when  the  new  ofificial  opened  a  regular  Stamp  Office, 
"  at  the  sign  of  the  King's  Arms,"  being  a  shop  on  the 
Tolzey  opposite  to  the  Council  House,  where  he  occasionally 
sold  pens  and  paper  to  the  Corporation.  Ten  years  later 
Mr.  Fane,  having  become  heir  to  the  earldom  of  Westmore- 
land, resigned  the  post  of  clerk  to  the  Society  of  Merchants, 
and  Worrall,  then  styled  "  an  eminent  attorney,"  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  room.  Mr.  Fane's  retirement  from  business, 
about  the  same  time,  threw  a  lucrative  practice  into  the 
hands  of  his  former  servant,  and  Worrall  acquired  a  fortune, 
and  was  the  head  of  a  banking  firm  in  1776.  His  son,  who 
maybe  styled  Samuel  the  Third,  was  educated  as  a  barrister, 
and  was  appointed  town  clerk  of  the  city  in  June,  1787. 
Notwithstanding  the  dignity  of  that  position,  he  applied  for 
and  obtained  the  office  of  distributor  of  stamps  on  the  death 
of  his  father  ;  he  further  secured  the  patent  place  of  printer 
of  the  Custom  House  presentment ;  and  he  also  founded  a 
bank.  Some  anecdotes  of  this  worthy,  who  was  rather 
proud  of  the  nickname  of  **  Devil  Worrall,"  appear  in  the 
*'  Annals  "  of  the  present  century. 

John  Barry  was  executed  on  the  16th  May  at  St. 
Michael's  Hill  for  forgery.  The  case,  which  excited  much 
interest,  illustrates  the  social  habits  of  the  time.  Barry 
kept  the  Harp  and  Star  public-house  on  the  Quay,  where 
many  privateersmen  and  other  sailors  were  accustomed  to 
live  whilst  on  shore.     As  the  men  generally  ran  into  debt 


2G2  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1746. 

to  the  J  ublican  before  embarking,  Barry  required  them  to 
appf  nd  their  signatures  or  "  marks  "  to  blank  forms  of  wills, 
which,  in  the  event  of  death,  he  filled  up  in  his  own  favour, 
and  secured  the  testators*  wages  or  prize-money  from  the 
shipowner.  To  facilitate  these  transactions,  Barry  main- 
tained in  his  house  a  man  named  Peter  Haynes,  styled  a 
"  hedge  *'  attorney — that  is,  a  person  debarred  from  regular 
practice  owing  to  nonpayment  of  fees.  About  the  end 
of  1746  a  sailor  named  James  Bany,  an  officer  of  the  Duke 
privateer,  who  was  said  to  be  entitled  to  nearly  £2,000  of 
the  immense  booty  captured  in  the  Callao  ships,  took  up  his 
quarters  at  the  Harp  and  Star  at  the  landlord's  invitation, 
and  a  few  days  afterwards  he  suddenly  died  there.  The 
publican  forthwith  announced  that  the  deceased  had  made 
a  will  in  his  favour,  and  took  measures  for  having  it  proved. 
But  strong  suspicions  of  foul  play  having  been  excited, 
inquiries  took  place,  when  the  hedge  attorney  and  a  servant 
lad  at  the  inn  tendered  such  evidence  against  Barry  that 
he  was  brought  to  trial.  Haynes  deposed  that  after  the 
privateersman  had  expired,  Barry's  wife  put  a  pen  into 
the  dead  man's  hand,  and  thus  made  a  "  mark  "  upon  a 
blank  form  of  will,  which  was  at  once  filled  up  in  Barry's 
favour  by  Haynes  himself,  who  admitted  that  several 
hundreds  of  sailors'  wills  had  been  written  by  him  at 
Barry's  dictation  after  the  men  had  left  the  port.  The  boy 
deposed  that  he  had  signed  as  a  witness  to  the  will  through 
the  intimidation  of  his  employer,  who  had  forced  him  to 
go  before  a  master  in  Chancery  and  make  oath  with  Haynes 
as  to  the  validity  of  the  document.  He  received  £11  for 
these  services  when  Haynes  obtained  the  deceased's  prize- 
money.  The  malefactor,  it  is  recorded,  appeared  on  the 
scaffold  "  as  though  he  had  been  going  to  a  wedding,"  and 
affirmed  that  he  was  as  innocent  of  the  forgery  as  he  was 
of  the  murder  which  was  very  generally  attributed  to  him. 
Barry's  gaiety  on  the  occasion  was  not  an  unusual  feature 
of  an  execution.  In  May,  1743,  Sarah  Dodd,  on  her  way 
to  the  gallows,  "  pledged  the  hangman  out  of  a  bottle  of 
liquor  about  the  middle  of  Wine  Street." 

One  Robert  Leat,  announcing  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of 
June  28th,  1746,  his  Occupation  of  the  Bear  inn,  Eedcliff 
Street,  adds : — "  All  the  post  horses  and  post  chaises  that 
belong  to  this  city  are  kept  at  the  said  inn."  Although  the 
charge  for  travelling  post  was  then  only  about  sixpence  per 
mile,  the  mercantile  class  generally  preferred  the  stage 
coach.     Occasionally,  however,  an  intending  traveller  adver- 


1746.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  263 

tised  in  the  local  journals  for  "a  companion  in  a  post  chaise 
for  London." 

The  removal  of  the  Post  Office  from  All  Saints'  Lane  to 
Small  Street  in  consequence  of  the  building  of  the  Exchange 
has  been  already  noticed.  There  seems  to  have  been  some 
informal  understanding  that,  when  the  Exchange  was 
finished,  a  suitable  adjacent  site  should  be  provided  by  the 
Corporation  for  postal  business  ;  and  in  August,  1746,  a  com- 
mittee reported  to  the  Council  that  they  had  contracted  for 
the  erection  of  "  a  house  intended  to  be  made  use  of  as  a  post 
office,''  certain  workmen  having  "  agreed  to  build  and  find 
all  the  materials  at  the  rate  of  £60  per  square  "  {sic),  while 
Mr.  Thomas  Pyne  (nephew  to  Henry,  the  former  postmaster) 
had  offered  to  become  the  tenant  at  **£40  a  year,  which  he 
alleges  is  the  highest  rent  he  is  able  at  present  to  pay." 
The  Council  approved  of  the  proposal,  recommending  the 
committee  to  get  as  much  rent  as  was  practicable.  The 
liouse,  of  which  the  scanty  original  dimensions  may  still  be 
observed,  cost  £700,  exclusive  of  a  ground  rent  of  £15  a  year, 
given  for  the  site.  Only  the  ground  floor  was  set  apart  for 
postal  business,  Mr.  Pyne  residing  above.  The  first  year's 
rent  (£43)  was  paid  in  1760.  (The  house  now  (1892)  pro- 
duces a  rental  of  £260  yearly,  and  the  shed  in  the  rear, 
which  the  Corporation  built,  and  from  time  to  time  extended, 
as  postal  business  increased,  brings  in  £200  per  annum  ad- 
ditional). 

The  following  curiojis  illustration  of  eighteenth  century 
law  and  justice  is  extracted  from  the  Bristol  Advertiser  of 
August  9th,  1746  : — "  The  beginning  of  this  week  a  recruit- 
ing sergeant  was  made  to  pay  20^.  for  profane  cursing  and 
swearing,  and  order'd  to  sit  in  the  stocks  several  hours.  Ex- 
amples of  this  kind  are  almost  daily  making  of  blasphemous 
delinquents  by  the  worthy  magistrates  of  this  opulent  city. 
It  seems  a  person  hearing  anyone  swear  or  curse  may  go 
privately  to  the  clerk's  office  in  the  Council  House,  give  in 
the  name  of  the  offender,  with  the  number  of  oaths,  upon 
oath,  and  never  be  known  as  to  his  person.  On  which  a 
warrant  is  issued  out,  the  offender  seized  thereon,  and  pun- 
ish'd  according  to  the  tenour  of  the  glorious  new  Act  of 
Parliament  in  that  case  made  and  provided." 

The  Council,  in  August,  voted  a  grant  of  £20  to  Ann  Mans- 
field, grand  daughter  of  John  Hine  (mayor,  1696),  owing  to 
her  "  deplorable  condition." 

The  insignia  of  office  borne  by  the  water  bailiff  being 
apparently  deemed  not  sufficiently  imposing,  a  Silver  Oar 


264  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1746. 

was  now  parchased  for  the  functionary  in  question,  at  a  cost 
of£18  7«.  6d. 

The  overcrowded  condition  of  the  burial  ground  adjoining 
Christ  Church  at  this  date  forced  the  vestry  to  apply  a 
remedy.  On  the  8th  October,  1746,  it  was  resolved  to  close 
the  place  for  fourteen  years,  a  new  cemetery  in  Duck  Lane 
having  been  enclosed  and  consecrated.  In  August,  1764, 
another  vestry  minute  orders  that  the  old  cemetery  *'  be 
again  solely  used  " — to  the  improvement,  no  doubt,  of  the 
neighbouring  public  well  in  Wine  Street. 

The  national  Thanksgiving  for  the  suppression  of  the  re- 
bellion was  celebrated  on  the  9th  October  with  great  fervour. 
Twenty  pieces  of  cannon  on  Brandon  Hill  awakened  sleepy 
citizens  at  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  by  a  royal  salute.  Later 
on,  the  corporate  body,  the  trade  companies,  and  the  boys  of 
the  City  School  repaired  to  the  Cathedral,  and  were  saluted 
after  service  with  three  volleys  by  the  regiment  stationed  in 
the  city.  In  the  afternoon,  an  effig}^  of  the  Young  Preten- 
der, clothed  in  tartan,  was  carried  through  the  streets  and 
ignominiously  burnt  in  Prince's  Street.  Bonfires,  fireworks, 
and  a  ball  concluded  the  festivities,  which  cost  the  Corpora- 
tion about  £136.  Some  Falstaifian  items  appear  in  the  ac- 
counts : — "  Wine,  (70^  gallons  of  Lisbon  and  Port  at  6.*?.  per 
gallon)  £21  3^. ;  Arrack,  (6  gallons,  the  first  time  that  this 
liquor  is  mentioned  in  the  city  accounts)  £4  16s\  ;  Ale 
(144  gallons)  £4  &. ;  Hot  Well  water,  1^.-'  The  revellers 
also  disposed  of  41b.  of  tobacco  and  a  vast  number  of  pipes. 

The  first  attempt  to  found  a  local  Medical  School  appears 
to  date  from  this  time.  The  Bristol  Oracle  of  October  24th, 
1746,  announced  that  a  "  Course  of  Anatomy  "  would  begin 
on  the  7th  of  November  (without  naming  tne  locality),  and 
referred  intending  subscribers  to  Mr.  John  Page,  in  St. 
James's  Barton,  or  to  Mr.  James  Ford,  in  Trinity  Street. 
Page  was  the  leading  Bristol  surgeon  of  the  period.  The 
enterprise  appears  to  have  been  unsuccessful,  as  was  a  similar 
effort  in  1777. 

Shopkeepers,  as  a  rule,  were  still  content  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness in  open  booths.  In  the  Bodleian  Library  is  a  drawing, 
dated  November,  1746,  representing  nine  houses  in  Wine 
Street,  the  gate  of  the  Guard-house  forming  the  centre  of  the 
group.  Only  three  of  the  shops  are  provided  withglass  windows. 

The  existence  on  the  shore  of  the  Avon,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  great  ravine  on  Durdham  Down,  of  a  copious  spring 
of  water,  as  much  entitled  to  be  called  "  hot  "  as  the  ancient 
well  at  St.  Vincent's  Rocks,  must  have  been  always  well 


1746.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  265 

known.  The  first  record  of  its  having  been  turned  to  pro- 
fitable account  does  not  occur,  however,  until  1743,  when  its 
owners,  the  Merchants'  Society,  ordered  that  the  lessees  (un- 
named) should  be  sued  for  arrears  of  rent.  In  the  BriMol 
Journal  of  December  20th,  1746,  is  the  following  advertise- 
ment : — "  To  be  sold  for  a  term  of  years,  The  New  Hot  Well, 
situate  within  the  parish  and  manour  of  Clifton.  Enquire  of 
Mr.  Fane  "  [the  clerk  to  the  company].  As  there  was  no 
carriage  road  by  the  river  side,  and  pedestrians  had  some  diffi- 
culty in  traversing  the  rocky  pathway,  the  place  offered  little 
temptation  to  the  speculative ;  but  in  October,  1760,  the 
proprietors  succeeded  in  leasing  the  well  to  —  Newcomb  and 
John  Dolman,  for  a  term  of  21  years,  at  a  rental  of  £24  per 
annum.  One  or  two  cottages  were  then  erected  for  the 
accommodation  of  visitors,  and  it  appears  from  John  Wes- 
ley's diary  that  he  took  up  his  abode  at  this  secluded  spot  in 
1764  for  the  purpose  of  drinking  the  waters  "  free  from 
noise  and  hurry."  The  visit  of  so  prominent  a  personage  was 
naturally  made  the  most  of  by  the  lessees.  In  1766  Dolman, 
who  was  a  preacher  at  two  dissenting  chapels,  and  a  basket 
maker,  as  well  as  a  dispenser  of  spa  water,  published  a  dreary 
pamphlet  entitled,  "  Contemplations  amongst  Vincent's 
Rocks,"  in  which  he  stated  that  "when he  (Wesley) first  came 
.  ,  ,  his  countenance  looked  as  if  a  greedy  consumption 
had  determined  to  put  an  end  to  his  days.  But  in  less  than 
three  weeks,  ...  he  was  enabled  to  set  out  on  his 
Cornish  circuit  .  .  .  preaching  every  day."  The  ex- 
treme solitude  of  the  spring,  however,  proved  fatal  to  its 
popularity.  Dolman  admitted  that  the  nearest  dwelling 
was  a  mile  distant,  and  that  the  only  human  objects  ordi- 
narily visible  were  the  gibbeted  remains  of  two  murderers 
(the  assassins  of  Sir  Robert  Cann's  coachman).  In  1761  the 
lease  was  offered  for  sale,  but  failed  to  find  a  purchaser,  and 
the  premises  were  frequently  but  vainly  advertised  to  be 
let.  Dolman  published  a  second  edition  of  his  "  Contempla- 
tions "  in  1772.  He  had  then  blossomed  into  '*  Vicar  of 
Chalk,  in  Kent ;"  but  was  better  known  in  Bristol  as  "  Parson 
Twigg,"  in  allusion  to  his  original  calling.  His  book  had  no 
better  effect  than  before  on  the  repute  of  the  spring.  In 
September,  1778,  the  premises,  then  in  bad  repair,  were 
offered  to  be  let  by  auction  ;  but  no  bidder  appeared,  owing, 
it  was  believed,  to  the  permission  given  to  the  public  to  carry 
off  the  water  in  their  own  bottles  and  baskets.  Being  un- 
able to  procure  a  tenant,  the  Merchant  Venturers,  in  June, 
1786,  appointed  a  person  to  take  care  of  the  premises  for  five 


2Cjij  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1746-47. 

wars,  apparently  as  their  manager.  This  seems  to  have 
ueen  the  last  effort  made  to  maintain  the  public  character  of 
the  place.  In  1792  a  passing  visitor  noted  that  the  pump 
Tijom  was  falling  in  ruins,  and  that  the  adjoining  cottages 
had  been  converted  into  dwellings  for  quarrj^men. 

During  the  year  1746,  a  wall  was  erected  along  the  nor- 
thern edge  of  the  great  ravine  on  Durdham  Down,  and  con- 
tinued thence  to  the  point  where  the  common  touched  the 
Ix^undary  of  Sneyd  Fark,  at  the  rocks  overhanging  the 
Avon.  Many  fatal  accidents  had  occurred  in  the  locality, 
owing  to  its  unprotected  condition,  and  the  builder  of  the 
wall,  Mr.  John  Wallis,  was  regarded  as  a  public  benefactor. 
In  the  London  Magazine  for  1746  is  a  poem  on  '*  Wallis's 
Wall  on  Durdham  Down,"  beginning  : — 

Let  Cook  and  Norton  towVin^  Follies  raise, 
Thy  wisdom,  AVallis,  will  1  sing  and  praise. 
I^et  heroes  and  Prime  Ministers  of  State 
Smile  when  they're  called,  ironically,  great ; 
Superior  ment  shall  my  muse  employ, 
Since  better  'tis  to  save  than  to  destroy. 

The  "  Follies  "  on  either  bank  of  the  Avon  (Norton's  is 
now  in  ruins)  are  styled  in  a  note  **  two  whimsical  and  use- 
less buildings."  The  wall  retained  its  original  name  for 
many  years,  but  later  generations  have  oddly  transmuted 
the  cognomen  into  Sea  Walls. 

The  narrow  pass  known  as  St.  Nicholas'  Gate  was  the 
scene  of  many  serious  accidents.  John  Wesley  notes  in  his 
diary  that  on  the  22nd  January,  1747,  whilst  riding  through 
the  gate,  he  and  his  horse  were  thrown  down  by  the  shaft  of 
a  cart ;  but,  by  what  he  clearly  believed  to  be  a  miracle,  the 
wheel  merely  grazed  his  head  without  doing  him  any  injury. 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  the  "  briefs  "  issued 
by  the  Crown,  requiring  collections  to  be  made  in  parish 
churches  on  behalf  of  some  religious  or  charitable  object. 
The  appeal  was  generally  made  for  the  repair  of  some  ruin- 
ous church,  but  local  calamities  arising  from  fire,  lightning, 
floods,  hailstorms,  and  hurricanes  were  often  the  occasion  of 
briefs.  In  the  year  ending  Easter,  1747,  no  less  than  jsixteen 
of  these  documents  entailed  collections  in  the  city  churches. 
Possibly  in  consequence  of  the  number,  the  oflFerings  were 
very  small.  At  St.  Nicholas  the  total  sum  received  was 
£3  2.S.  y^rf.,  one  collection  from  the  wealthy  congregation 
amounting  only  to  Is,  3rf.  Occasionally,  when  the  case  ex- 
cited some  sympathy,  a  collection  was  made  by  the  church- 
wardens from  house  to  house.  Thus  £6  were  obtained  in  St. 
Nicholas's  parish  in  1764  for  the  sufferers  from  a  fire  at 


1747.] 


IN  THE  £IGHTEENTH  CKNTURT. 


2G7 


"  Almesbury/'  and  £4  Is.  9d.  were  collected  there  in  1760  for 
a  similar  calamity  at  Kingswood. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  June,  1747.  The  local 
candidates  were  the  retiring  members,  Edward  Southwell  and 
Robert  Hoblyn,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Dicker.  The  last  named 
gentleman  retired,  alleging  that  a  contest  would  excite  bitter 
animosity  amongst  the  citizens  ;  and  the  old  representatives 
were  consequently  returned.  Both  gentlemen  were  opposed  to 
the  Whig  Goveniment.  The  King's  Speech  at  the  dissolution 
of  the  previous  Parliament  was  given  in  the  Bristol  Journal 
of  the  20th  June,  but  soon  after  the  printer  was  compelled  to 
publish,  for  three  weeks,  a  humble  apology  to  the  King's  Prin- 
ter for  having  infringed  his  patent,  promising  to  refrain  from 
further  offences.  In  fulfilment  of  this  pledge,  the  Journal 
declined  to  explain  the  nature  of  the  local  Acts  passed  in 
1749,  "  they  being  the  property  of  his  Majesty's  Prmter.'' 

Although  local  privateering  appears  to  have  been  very  un- 
profitable in  1746  and  1747,  and  though  many  of  the  Bristol 
war  vessels  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  additions  con- 
tinued to  be  made  in  order  to  keep  up  the  previous  strength. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  vessels  fitted  out  in  the  city 
during  the  war  which  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  with  sucn 
details  as  have  been  preserved.  Those  marked  with  an  * 
were  captured,  and  f  denotes  a  recapture. 


Guns  Men 

Alexander  ...    22 

Blackjoke  ...     10      70 

•Blandford  ...    22    240 

•Bristol  ...    80    8C0 

Constantine         ...    18    180 
Despatch 

Dragon  ...    22    180 

Dukeof  Bedford  ...    26 

•Duke   of    Cumber- 
land 
Duke    of    Marlbo- 
rough ...    20 
*t*Dursley 
Eagle 

•Emperor 

•Fanner 
Falcon  (French  ])rize) 

•Ferret  ...     10      90 

•Fly 

•Fox  (French  prize)     16    150 
Gallant 

•Hannibal  ...     80 

Harlequin  ...     20 

Hawk  ...     16    160 

Jamaica  ...    20 

King  William  ...     20    150 


Leviathan 
•Lion 
•Mediterranean 

Pearl 

Phoenix 

Prince  Charles 

Prince  Frederick 

Prince  Harry 
•fQueen  of  Hungary    . . . 

Resolution 

Banger 
•Hover 

Boyal  Hunter 
(wrecked) 

SalisDury 

oecKer  . . . 

Sheerness 

Somerset  (lost) 

Southwell 

*Spry 

Tiger  (French  prize) ... 
•fTryaU 
Townshend 

•Tuscany 

Vernon  (lest) 

•Vulture 


Guns  Men 

28    250 
20    180 

14      80 

20    150 


16 

120 

12 

100 

16 

160 

12 

100 

24 

210 

22 

182 

26 

15 

96 

24 

200 

26 

16 

120 

22 

180 

24 

175 

14 

180 

14 

130 

268  THE    ANXALS   OP    BRISTOL  [1747. 

Tlie  Tiger  took  three  of  the  enemies'  privateers  during  the 
year,  for  which  the  commander,  Captain  Siex,  was  presented 
by  the  merchants  of  Bristol  with  a  handsome  testimonial. 
In  September,  Captain  Philips,  whose  gallant  recapture  of  a 
man  of  war  has  been  recorded  (see  p.  259),  returned  to  Bristol 
from  Jamaica.  His  vessel  was  attacked  during  the  voyage 
by  a  large  French  privateer,  which  he  not  only  beat  off  but 
drove  ashore  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  where  he  rifled  the  enemy, 
and  finally  sank  her.  From  some  accounts  of  the  Southwell 
privateer,  preserved  in  the  JeflTeries  Collection,  it  appears 
that  an  unsuccessful  cruise  of  such  a  vessel  cost  the  owners 
little  short  of  £2,000.  The  cost  of  fitting  out  the  Southwell 
for  her  fifth  cruise,  in  1746,  was  £1,888,  though  the  crew 
was  reduced  to  187,  but  the  value  of  the  only  prize  taken 
was  but  i^*220.  Amongst  the  owners  were  Michael  Miller, 
Thomas  Deane,  James  Laroche,  W.  Aleyn,  and  Cranfield 
Becher. 

The  power  of  granting  licenses  for  the  sale  of  liquor  being 
vested  in  the  aldermanic  body,  their  worships  naturally  at- 
tended to  their  own  interests.  The  following  advertisement 
in  the  Oracle  of  July  25th,  1747,  requires  no  comment : — "  To 
be  lett,  by  Alderman  Nath.  Day,  The  Royal  Anne,  at  Wapp- 
ing.  N.B. — There  will  be  no  other  public-house  admitted 
at  Wapping.'*  From  an  advertisement  relating  to  the  same 
house,  in  the  London  Gazette  of  January  17th,  1713,  from 
which  we  learn  that  a  bowling-green  was  attached  to  the 
inn,  it  appears  the  monopoly  of  the  Day  family  had  been  en- 
joyed for  upwards  of  thirty  years. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  August,  1747,  a  petition  was 
presented  from  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Philip's,  complaining 
of  "  the  great  inconveniency  and  obstructions  arising  from 
the  narrowness  of  Lawford's  Gate ;  "  but  it  received  no 
attention.  Another  memorial  to  the  same  effect  met  with 
similar  treatment  in  1751.  A  "  whipping  post "  was  erected 
a  short  distance  without  the  gate  for  the  punishment  of 
offenders  in  Gloucestershire,  and  was  in  frequent  use. 

The  fine  of  £20  imposed  by  the  Carpenters'  Company  on 
persons  desirous  of  pursuing  that  trade  in  the  city  was  con- 
demned as  exorbitant  by  the  Council  in  September,  1747, 
and  the  company  was  ordered  to  content  itself  with  £5  for 
the  future.  The  corporate  accounts  for  repairs  show  that  the 
wages  of  journeymen  carpenters  were  then  1^.  lOi.  a  day. 

The  average  speed  of  coaches  being  barely  forty  miles 
per  day,  the  reader  may  easily  divine  that  the  poorer  class 
of    travellers,   who    journeyed    by   stage   wagons,   had   no 


1747.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  269 

ground  for  complaining  of  the  swiftness  of  their  transit. 
An  advertisement  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  October  10th, 
1747,  states  that  a  wagon  set  out  from  Basing  Lane,  London, 
every  Thursday,  and  arrived  at  the  Lamb  inn,  at  Lawford's 
Ghite,  on  the  following  Wednesday.  The  local  agent  was 
**  Richard  Giles,  at  the  Lamb  inn,^'  who  will  be  heard  of 
again.  The  fare  for  passengers  was  about  10s.  a  head,  but 
Id.  per  lb.  was  also  charged  for  their  luggage.  Tradesmen 
who  did  not  require  such  "  quick  conveyance "  for  their 
goods  were  invited  to  send  them  (at  the  rate  of  3^.  per  cwt. 
in  summer  and  3s.  6d,  in  winter)  by  a  wagon  leaving  for 
Newbury,  where  they  would  be  shipped  in  barges,  and 
conveyed  to  London  "commonly  in  12  or  14  days."  From 
another  newspaper  it  appears  that  the  Exeter  wagon  left 
St.  Thomas  Street  on  Friday,  and  completed  its  eighty  miles 
journey  on  Tuesday.  In  October,  17B8,  a  carrier  named 
James  boasted  that  his  London  wagons  (three  weekly)  were 
the  most  expeditious  on  the  road,  only  four  nights  being 
spent  on  the  journey.  "Ttey  are  likewise  made  very 
commodious  and  warm  for  passengers." 

A  proposal  was  started  about  this  time  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  hospital  for  the  relief  of  merchant  sailors  and  their 
families,  and  promised  to  be  a  great  success.  The  Council, 
in  December,  1747,  voted  £600  towards  the  fund,  and 
granted  a  site  on  Brandon  Hill  for  the  proposed  building. 
The  Merchants*  Society  also  subscribed  £2C0.  Afterwards, 
for  reasons  now  unknown,  the  scheme  was  abandoned. 

About  this  time  a  swimming  bath  was  opened  by  one 
Thomas  Rennison,  a  threadmaker,  at  a  suburban  place  called 
Territt's  Mills,  "  near  the  upper  end  of  Stokes'  Croft."  The 
mill  was  used  for  grinding  snuff,  and  there  was  a  large  pond 
on  the  premises,  which  was  probably  the  original  bath. 
The  public  being  largely  attracted  to  the  spot,  Rennison 
opened,  in  1765,  a  new  "  grand  swimming  bath,  400  feet  in 
circumference,"  to  which  a  "ladies*  swimming  bath  and 
coffee  house  "  were  added  in  1767.  A  thread  factory  as  well 
»s  the  snuff  mill  still  formed  part  of  the  premises.  In  1774 
Rennison,  st3'Hng  himself  "Governor  of  tne  Colony  of  New- 
foundland," solicited  attention  to  his  baths  and  coffee  house, 
while  in  a  somewhat  later  advertisement  the  place  was 
called  the  Old  England  tea  gardens,  to  which  a  tavern  had 
been  annexed.  The  spot,  being  quite  in  the  country  and 
beyond  the  civic  jurisdiction,  became  a  popular  resort ;  and 
an  annual  bean  feast  was  held,  at  which  a  mock  mayor, 
sheriffs,  and  other  dignitaries  were  elected,  and  various  high 


270  THE    ANNALS   OP    BRISTOL  [1747-48. 

jinks  played  by  the  not  too  abstemious  revellers.  In  June, 
1782,  evening  concerts,  twice  a  week,  were  announced  for 
the  summer  season ;  admission  one  shilling,  including  tea 
and  coffee. 

The  chapel  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the  Black  Friars 
was  rebuilt  in  1747,  at  a  cost  of  £1,830.  Having  regard  to 
the  debased  architectural  taste  of  the  time,  the  building  is 
of  remarkable  purity  of  style. 

The  difficulty  experienced  in  inducing  youths  to  enter  the 
army  is  indicated  by  an  advertisement  in  the  Bnsfol  Journal 
of  January  9th,  1748,  offering  two  guineas,  and  a  crown  to 
drink  the  Kind's  health,  to  every  recruit  measuring  6  feet 
9  inches.  "  Whoever  brings  a  good  man  shall  have  half  a 
guinea  reward.  Excellent  Punch  and  ale  at  the  sergeant's 
quarters  [the  Boot,  Maryleport  Street],  and  the  famous  Cor- 
poral Francis  Bird's  agreeable  and  humourous  Diversions. 
All  for  Nothing." 

In  despite  of  the  Turnpike  Acts,  the  roads  of  the  neigh- 
bouring districts  remained  as  bad  as  before.  About  this 
time,  Miss  Mary  Champion,  aunt  of  the  celebrated  Bristol 
potter,  was  travelling  with  her  grandmother  in  their  car- 
riage to  Bath,  when  the  vehicle  became  embogged,  and 
the  two  ladies  had  to  climb  over  a  wall  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  and  make  their  way  through  the  fields  to  "  Kainson." 
About  two  years  later,  the  Gloucester  Journal  reported  the 
great  road  to  the  north  to  be  so  bad  that  a  "sober,  careful 
farmer"  had  fallen  and  been  suffocated  in  one  of  the  sloughs 
between  that  city  and  Cheltenham. 

The  story  of  the  long  struggle  between  the  African 
Company  and  the  merchants  of  Bristol,  in  which  the  latter 
successfully  maintained  their  claim  to  participate  in  the 
slave  traffic,  has  been  recounted  under  the  year  1711.  In 
the  early  months  of  1747,  the  London  firms  who  sought  to 
monopolise  the  trade  made  another  attempt  to  induce 
Parliament  to  drive  their  rivals  from  the  field.  The  chief 
argument  advanced  for  their  unconcealed  selfishness  was 
that  the  trade  on  the  African  coast  could  be  protected  from 
foreign  aggression  only  by  the  erection  of  additional  forts 
and  castles,  and  that  such  defences  could  not  be  raised  and 
maintained  except  by  a  joint  stock  company  enjoying  ex- 
clusive privileges.  The  truth  was  that  the  African  Company 
was  practically  insolvent,  and  was  unable  to  raise  fresh 
capital  without  legislative  help.  The  Corporation  of  Bristol 
lost  no  time  in  defending  local  interests.  A  petition  was 
addressed  to  the  House  of  Commons,  setting  forth  that  the 


174-8.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  271 

trade  from  Bristol  to  the  West  Indies  and  North  America, 
by  way  of  Africa,  was  **  the  principal  and  most  considerable 
branch  belonging  to  the  city ;  and  that  since  such  trade  has 
been  free  and  open,  it  has  greatly  increased,  and  his  Majesty's 
plantations  thereby  much  better  supplied  with  negroes,  and 
larger  quantities  of  the  manufactures  of  this  kingdom  ex- 
ported." Defeated  in  the  sessions  of  1747  and  1748,  the 
Londoners  made  another,  and  an  equally  unsuccessful,  effort 
in  1749,  when  the  Bristol  Council  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  local  merchants  who  had  conducted  the  opposition  at 
Westminster.  At  length,  in  17B0,  the  contending  interests 
came  to  terms.  The  Act  passed  in  that  year  recited  that 
the  African  trade,  being  "  very  advantageous,  and  necessary 
for  supplying  the  plantations  with  a  sufficient  number  of 
negroes  at  reasonable  rates,  ought  for  that  reason  to  be  free 
and  open  to  all  his  Majesty's  subjects."  It  was  therefore 
enacted  that  the  Royal  Company  should  be  dissolved,  that 
all  British  subjects  should  trade  to  Africa  without  restraint, 
and  that  such  traders  should  be  deemed  a  corporation,  styled 
the  Company  of  Merchants  trading  to  Africa,  in  whom  the 
old  company's  forts  and  stations  were  vested.  The  direction 
was  confided  to  a  body  of  nine  persons,  three  of  whom  were 
to  be  elected  by  the  members  in  London,  Bristol,  and  Liver- 
pool respectively.  The  qualification  of  an  elector  was  the 
payment  of  £2,  by  which  a  merchant  became  a  freeman  of 
the  company.  This  was  the  only  capital  possessed  by  the 
new  concern,  but  the  payments  thus  made  throw  some  light 
on  the  extent  of  the  African  trade  in  the  three  leading  ports. 
Williamson's  "Liverpool  Memorandum  Book  for  1763" 
states  that  there  were  in  Liverpool  101,  in  London  13B,  and 
in  Bristol  157  merchants  who  were  members  of  the  African 
Company.  But  by  a  Bristol  list,  dated  June  23rd,  1756,  giving 
the  names  of  all  the  firms,  it  appears  that  237  members 
resided  in  Bristol,  147  in  London,  and  89  in  Liverpool. 
Some  of  the  pamphlets  published  by  the  respective  parties 
previous  to  the  compromise  are  in  the  British  Museum. 
From  one  of  these,  apparently  written  by  a  Bristolian  in 
1750,  it  appears  that  the  enormous  drain  of  human  beings 
from  the  Slave  Coast  had  brought  about  a  great  advance  in 
prices.  Instead  of  the  £3  or  £4  paid  for  a  slave  in  Africa 
about  1725,  the  writer  alleges  that  the  price  demanded  by 
the  native  dealers  was  from  £28  to  £32  a  head.  It  was  ad- 
mitted, he  adds,  that  the  Bristol  and  Liverpool  shippers 
could  "  carry  on  the  trade  10  or  IB  per  cent,  cheaper  than 
London,"  and  he  asserts,  with  much  complacency,  that  in 


272  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1748. 

the  first  niue  years  of  open  trade,  ending  in  1706,  they  des- 
patched no  less  than  160,960  slaves  to  the  English  colonies. 
Another  writer  quite  unintentionally  discloses  the  horrible 
destruction  of  life  on  the  plantations  by  giving  the  aggregate 
import  of  slaves  into  Jamaica  from  1700  to  1760.  The 
number  was  408,101,  of  whom  about  108,000  were  trans- 
ferred to  other  islands,  leaving  300,000  settled  labourers. 
As  it  is  known  from  other  sources  that  the  black  population 
in  1750  was  less  than  ought  to  have  been  naturally  produced 
by  the  negroes  living  there  in  1700,  the  treatment  of  the 
unhappy  captives  must  have  been  simply  murderous. 

On  the  20th  March,  1748,  a  baker  bearing  the  singular 
name  of  Peaceable  Robert  Matthews  was  convicted  of  selling 
bread  deficient  in  weight,  and  was  fined  £6  12s.  6d.,  being 
at  the  rate  of  bs,  per  ounce  on  the  deficiency.  The  charge 
was  brought  by  the  Bakers'  Company,  which  was  then 
zealous  in  laying  informations,  and  many  of  the  fines  were 
handed  over  to  the  prosecutors. 

At  the  gaol  delivery  in  April,  Thomas  Betterley  was 
convicted  of  murder  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  Soldiers 
being  scarce,  however,  the  culprit  was  pardoned  on  condition 
of  his  continuing  to  serve  as  a  dragoon. 

A  boarding  school,  erected  under  the  auspices  of  John 
Wesley,  was  opened  at  Kingswood  on  the  24th  July.  It 
was  chiefly  designed  for  the  education  of  the  sons  of  Wes- 
leyan  ministers ;  and  its  original  regulations,  drawn  up  by 
Wesley  himself,  indicate  the  training  that  was  thought 
suitable  for  such  boys.  The  lads  rose  at  four  o'clock,  winter 
and  summer,  and,  excepting  short  periods  allowed  for  break- 
fast, dinner,  and  supper,  they  prayed,  learnt  lessons,  and 
worked  in  the  garden  or  the  house  until  eight  o'clock  at 
night.  There  were  no  holidays  throughout  the  year,  and  on 
every  day,  except  Sunday,  a  full  day's  work  was  to  be  done. 
"  We  do  not,"  writes  Wesley,  "  allow  any  time  for  play  on 
any  day."  The  food  was  of  an  equally  Spartan  character. 
It  consisted  of  milk  porridge  and  water  poiridge  alternately 
for  breakfast ;  bread  and  butter,  and  cheese  and  milk,  by 
turns,  for  supper;  and  meat  with  apple  puddings  for  dinner, 
except  on  Fridays,  when  the  fare  was  "vegetables  and 
dumplings."  No  relaxation  of  the  code  was  granted  to 
weakly  boys,  Wesley  ordering  that  the  rules  should  not  be 
broken  in  favour  of  any  person.  The  founder  laid  his  hand 
upon  a  headmaster  named  Simpson,  who,  with  his  wife,  the 
housekeeper,  seems  to  have  gloried  in  aggravating  the  se- 
verity of  the  regulations.     Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  who  was  one 


1748.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  273 

of  the  pupils,  afterwards  stated  that  the  supply  of  food  was 
deficient,  and  that  even  in  the  depth  of  winter,  though  coals 
could  be  obtained  for  a  trifle  within  a  few  roods  from  the 
house,  he  was  refused  permission  to  warm  himself  at  a  fire. 
The  teacher  of  English,  Cornelius  Bayley,  afterwards  D.D., 
was  allowed  by  Wesley  only  £12  a  year  and  his  board.  The 
school,  which  under  more  sensible  rules  acquired  a  high 
reputation,  was  removed  to  Lansdown  in  1851. 

Pugilism  at  this  period  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  all 
classes  of  society,  from  the  royal  family  to  the  rabble.  On 
the  loth  October,  1748,  a  prize  fight  took  place  in  College 
Green  between  a  soldier  and  a  sailor.  Felix  Farley,  one  of 
the  printers  of  the  Bristol  Journal^  was  one  of  the  most 
cherished  local  friends  of  John  Wesley,  but  his  paper  con- 
tains an  account  of  the  battle.  Though  the  sailor,  it  says, 
was  short  in  stature  and  his  antagonist  a  lusty  man,  the  latter 
was  fearfully  beaten,  and  was  saved  from  expiring  only  by 
an  '*  application  of  palm  oil  and  spirits."  "  The  little  sailor 
had  a  pretty  deal  of  money  given  him  by  the  gentlemen 
present."  The  same  newspaper  of  February  4th,  1756,  gives 
more  minute  details  of  another  boxing  match  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  suburbs,  and  offers  unconscious  evidence 
of  the  unfeelingness  of  the  spectators.  One  of  the  com- 
batants was  allowed  to  fight  until  he  had  an  eye  beaten  out, 
eight  ribs  broken,  his  shoulder  blades  smashed  "in  four 
quarters,"  and  his  jaw  broken  in  three  pieces.  He  was  re- 
ported to  be  dead.  The  other  man  had  his  collar  bone 
broken  and  one  ear  torn  off. 

The  first  mention  of  a  steam  engine  in  the  local  press 
occurs  in  the  autumn  of  1748,  in  an  account  of  an  assault 
committed  by  a  negro  on  a  person  styled  "  the  master  of  the 
fire  engine,  and  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  cole-works  in 
Kingswood."  The  engines  of  that  period  were  serviceable 
only  for  pumping  water,  horses  being  employed  to  draw  the 
coal  from  the  workings. 

In  December,  1748,  a  novel  spectacle  took  place  at  Oxford. 
A  man  and  woman,  Quakers,  apparelled  in  "  hair  sackcloth," 
walked  through  the  principal  thoroughfares  at  separate 
times,  as  a  penance  for  having  had  an  illegitimate  chUd. 
Three  or  four  days  later,  the  couple  repeated  the  expiatory 

()erformance  at  Gloucester,  amidst  the  derision  of  the  popu- 
ace ;  and  the  Gentleman\^  Maqazine  states  that  they  also  did 
penance  in  Bristol.  Felix  Farley  being  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  all  reference  to  the  subject  is  suppressed 
in  his  journal. 


274  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1749. 

The  proclamation  of  peace  with  France  and  Spain  was 
made  in  Bristol  on  the  6th  February,  1749,  with  the  usual 
ceremonies.  Seven  "  scaffolds  "  were  constructed  for  the  use 
of  the  sheriffs,  Mr.  Stephen  Nash  being  paid  £5  16^.  for  the 
use  of  "  bays."  Thirteen  French-horn  players  were  engaged, 
and  34  coachmen  were  paid  a  crown  each  for  conducting 
the  carriages  of  the  civic  dignitaries  and  of  some  of  the 
leading  inhabitants,  amongst  whom  were  two  physicians, 
Df .  Logan  and  Dr.  Middleton — probably  the  first  professional 
men  who  kept  coaches  in  Bristol.  "  Eibbons"  were  extensive- 
ly worn,  for  the  mercer's  bill  amounted  to  £4  178.  6d.  The 
rest  of  the  outlay,  over  £40,  was  chiefly  expended  in  feast- 
ing. A  national  Thanksgiving  for  the  peace  took  place  in 
April,  when  a  great  quantity  of  ale  was  distributed  to  the 
populace  at  the  bonfire  on  Brandon  Hill,  while  the  Corpora- 
tion treated  itself  to  a  copious  entertainment,  the  total  ex- 
penditure being  nearly  £73. 

In  February,  1749,  the  Bristol  turnpike  trustees  for- 
warded a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  setting  forth 
that,  notwithstanding  the  Act  of  1727,  the  roads  were  still, 
owing  to  various  causes,  in  as  ruinous  a  condition  as  before 
the  trust  was  created,  and  praying  for  a  renewal  of  the 
powers  about  to  expire.  A  petition  was  also  presented  on 
behalf  of  several  of  the  neighbouring  gentry,  asking  that 
certain  "  ruinous  "  roads,  not  included  in  the  former  Act, 
might  be  embraced  in  the  new  statute.  The  Bill,  with 
extended  powers,  received  the  Royal  Assent  in  May.  In  the 
hope  of  allaying  discontent,  carts  laden  with  coal  were 
exempted  from  toll.  The  farmers,  however,  had  always 
detested  the  turnpikes,  and  the  inclusion  of  additional  roads 
in  the  trust  irritated  them  into  open  revolt.  During  the 
month  of  July  great  bodies  of  rural  labourers,  styling  them- 
selves "  Jack  a  Lents,"  some  wearing  shirts  over  their 
clothes,  others  naked  to  the  waist,  and  all  with  blackened 
faces,  twice  destroj^ed  the  gates  at  Bedminster,  Ashton  and 
Don  John's  Cross,  and  threatened  an  attack  on  the  city.  On 
the  1st  August,  they  came  for  the  third  time,  with  drums, 
colours,  and  arms,  and  demolished  the  toll  houses  on  the  AshUjn 
and  Dundry  roads.  Headed  by  a  young  gentleman-farmer 
of  Nailsea  carrying  an  improvised  standard,  they  next  pro- 
ceeded to  Bedminster,  to  be  avenged  on  Stephen  Durbin,  the 
tything  man,  who  had  caused  three  rioters  to  be  captured 
during  the  previous  raids.  After  drinking  freely  they 
attacked  Durbin's  house,  which  by  order  of  their  leader 
was  levelled  with  the  ground.    Subsequently  the  mob,  find- 


1749.]  IN    THE    EIGHTBENTH    CENTURY.  275 

ing  Redcliflf  Gate  closed,  made  its  way  to  Totterdown, 
where  it  demolished  the  two  gates  and  houses.  The  magis- 
trates, aided  by  a  number  of  constables  and  fifty  sailors 
armed  with  cutlasses,  at  length  appeared  on  the  scene, 
and  after  severe  fighting,  in  which  one  Farmer  Barns, 
was  conspicuous  as  a  rioter,  about  thirty  men,  several  of 
them  severely  wounded,  were  arrested  on  Knowle  Hill. 
An  affair  so  congenial  with  their  habits  would  have  excited 
the  Kingswood  colliers,  even  if  the  Somerset  farmers  had 
not  prompted  them  with  bribes.  On  the  3rd  August 
they  assembled  in  force,  and  almost  all  the  remaining  toll- 
gates  were  burnt  or  destroyed  by  gunpowder,  money  being 
demanded  from  every  traveller  as  a  reward  for  this  patri- 
otic service.  On  the  arrival  of  a  regiment  of  dragoons  the 
disturbances  ceased,  but  letters  were  sent  to  the  Council 
House  threatening  to  blockade  and  burn  the  city  if  the 
arrested  rioters  were  not  released.  (Five  of  these  prisoners 
died  in  Newgate  from  smallpox.)  The  judges  of  assize  were 
on  circuit  during  the  tumults,  and  special  precautions  had  to 
be  taken  for  their  safety.  The  recorder  was  stopped  at  Pens- 
ford  by  a  turbulent  mob,  which  demanded  money,  but  his 
firmness  awed  the  rabble,  and  he  was  allowed  to  proceed. 
The  Kingswood  colliers  maintained  a  nightly  guard  for 
several  weeks  after  the  riots,  in  order  to  defeat  any  attempt 
of  the  authorities  to  capture  the  ringleaders.  In  the  corres- 
pondence between  the  mayor  and  the  Government,  part  of 
which  is  in  the  British  Museum,  the  inactivity  displayed 
by  the  county  gentry  throughout  the  tumults  is  said  to  have 
increased  the  difficulties  of  the  magistrates.  (In  a  private 
account  book  of  Mr.  Gore,  of  Barrow  Court,  is  the  following 
remarkable  entry: — August  26,  1753.  To  Mr.  Hardwick, 
on  my  account,  for  cutting  down  the  turnpikes,  £10.)  The 
sympathy  of  the  farmers  with  the  rioters  was  so  uncon- 
cealed that  the  trials  of  eighteen  of  the  Somerset  prisoners 
were  removed  to  Wiltshire;  but  not  a  single  conviction  was 
obtained  there,  the  juries  acquitting  the  ringleaders  in  spite 
of  the  clearest  evidence  of  their  guilt.  Two  men,  concerned 
in  pulling  down  Mr.  Durbin's  house,  were  condemned 
in  Somerset  on  the  testimony  of  an  accomplice,  and  were 
executed  at  Ilchester.  Their  fate  caused  a  deep  sensation  ; 
and  the  rural  war  against  turnpikes,  maintained  obstinately 
for  upwards  of  tweuty  years,  was  at  length  sullenly  aban- 
doned. The  improved  roa-is,  however,  were  long  disliked 
by  persons  of  conservative  instincts.  Nearly  thirty  years 
aher  this  date  Mr.  Windham  recorded  in  his  diary  Dr.  John- 


276  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1749. 

son's  strong  hostility  to  them.  "  Formerly,"  said  the  sage, 
"  there  were  cheap  places  and  dear  places.  Now  all  refuges 
were  destroyed  for  elegant  or  genteel  poverty,  and  men  had 
no  longer  a  hope  to  support  them  in  their  struggle  through 
life.  The  roads  moreover  caused  disunion  of  families  by 
furnishing  a  market  to  each  man's  abilities,  and  destroying 
the  dependence  of  one  man  on  another." 

A  violent  dispute  between  Thomas  Chamberlayne,  dean  of 
Bristol,  and  the  prebendaries  of  the  Cathedral  broke  out  in 
the  spring  of  1749.     The  dean  suddenly  claimed  the  sole 
right   to   appoint   the   minor   canons   and   all   the  inferior 
officers,  and  on  the  27th  January,  in  despite  of  the  fact  that 
his  alleged  prerogative  had  been  referred  to  the  arbitration  of 
the  Primate  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  he  instituted  the  Rev. 
John  Camplin  as  a  minor  canon,  in  the  place  of  the  Eev. 
John  Culliford,  who  had  been  dismissed  by  the  chapter  for 
holding  two  cures  in  addition  to  that  office.    The  action  of 
the  dean  was  denounced  by  the  prebendaries,  a  few -weeks 
later,  as  contrary  to  their  privileges,  and  as  highly  indecent 
towards  the  two   prelates   to   whom  the   matter   had  been 
referred  ;  but  the  dean  treated  their  proceedings  with  con- 
temptuous indifference,  and   amicable  relations  were   sus- 
pended.     In   June,   1750,  another  minor  canonry   became 
vacant,  whereupon  the  dean,  "  in  the  presence  of  the  choir," 
instituted  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Hancock,  jun.     Ten  days  later, 
a  chapter  meeting  was  held,  when  the  reverend  dignitaries 
came  perilously  near  to  fisticuffs.     The  dean's  account  of 
the  affair,  appended  to  the  minutes,  is  that  he  had  nominated 
a  clergyman  for  a  vacant  rectory,  and  proposed  that  the 
chapter  should  proceed  to  the  election,  when  the  sub-dean 
(Castelman)  seized  the  minute  book  out  of  the  clerk's  hands, 
"  and  held  it  from  me  by  violence,  and  would  not  let  me  have 
it  till  they  were  going  out  of  ye  chapter."     Next  day,  at 
another  meeting,  the  dean  proposed  several  gentlemen   for 
the  vacant  livings  of  St.  Leonard's,  Bristol,  and  Sutton  Bon- 
nington,  but  the  prebendaries  rejected  all  of  them.     On  the 
other  hand  the  prebendaries  were  unanimous  in  the  choice 
of  a  clergyman  for  St.  Leonard's,  but  the  dean  refused  to 
put  the  question.     In  July  three  of  the  prebendaries  held  a 
chapter  in  the  dean's  absence,  and  elected  their  protege, 
Berjew,  to  St  Leonard's,  another  person  being  instituted  to 
Sutton.     Berjew  was  also  appointed  precentor.     But  when 
the  dean  came  back,  in  February,  1751,  he  protested  against 
all  that  had  been  done  whilst  he"  was  in  waiting  on  the  king, 
and  denied  the  right  of  any  prebendary  to  enjoy  his  stipend 


1749.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  277 

unless  he  resided  in  his^prebendal  house  and  came  properly 
apparelled  to  church  during  his  term  of  residence — which 
indicates  the  laxity  then  common  amongst  the  dignitaries. 
After  much  more  squabbling,  the  contending  parties  agreed 
to  leave  the  great  point  in  dispute  to  the  bishops  of  London, 
St.  David's,  and  St.  Asaph,  who  in  March,  1762,  determined 
against  the  claim  of  the  dean,  declaring  that  the  right  of 
electing  minor  canons,  schoolmaster,  etc.,  lay  in  the  dean  and 
chapter.  At  the  next  chapter  meeting  the  elections  made 
by  the  dean  were  declared  invalid,  and  it  was  resolved  to  fill 
certain  vacancies  at  the  next  gathering ;  but,  doubtless  in 
dread  of  a  scandal,  matters  were  compromised.  Berjew, 
promoted  to  All  Saints,  resigned  his  minor  canonry,  and  two 
of  the  dean's  former  nominees  were  ordered  to  draw  lots  for 
it,  the  loser  being  given  the  next  vacancy.  Hancock  was 
got  rid  of  by  being  instituted  to  St.  Leonard's.  Harmony 
was  thus  temporarily  restored. 

A  Bill  was  promoted  by  the  Corporation  in  the  session  of 
1749  to  amend  the  existing  statute  "  for  cleansing,  paving, 
and  enlightening"  the  city.  The  witnesses  examined  at 
Westminster  in  support  of  the  measure  stated  that  the  old 
lighting  Act  was  defective,  the  magistrates  having  no  power 
to  compel  the  parishes  to  erect  public  lamps,  or  to  fix  the 
hours  when  they  should  be  lighted.  The  overhanging  signs, 
moreover,  so  obstructed  the  lights  that  in  several  streets 
there  was  not  a  lamp  to  be  seen.  The  injustice  of  compel- 
ling the  poor  inhabitants  of  wide  streets  to  maintain  half  the 
pavement  before  their  houses,  the  injury  done  to  the  pave- 
ments by  carts  and  wagons  having  "  iron-bound  "  wheels, 
and  the  want  of  by-laws  to  enforce  order  amongst  the 
hackney  coachmen,  said  to  have  greatly  increased  in  number, 
were  also  urged  in  support  of  the  Bill ;  which  received  the 
Royal  Assent  in  May.  The  Corporation  spent  nearly  £660 
in  passing  the  scheme  through  Parliament — about  five  times 
the  usual  cost  of  a  Bill  at  that  period.  The  expenditure  was 
doubtless  caused  by  the  opposition  offered  to  the  measure 
by  a  section  of  the  inhabitants,  supported,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  by  the  members  of  Parliament  for  the  city,  whose 
Tory  principles  were  in  antagonism  to  those  of  the  majority 
of  the  Council.  The  new  measure  enacted,  hit^r  alia,  that 
the  magistrates  should  determine  the  number  of  lamps,  and 
where  they  should  be  placed,  and  should  require  them  to  be 
lighted  from  sunset  to  sunrise  from  the  20th  July  to  the  30th 
April — no  provision  being  made  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 
The  expense  of  lighting  and  paving  was  to  be  defrayed  by 


278  THE   ANNALS    OF    BRISTOL  [1749. 

rates.  The  justices  were  also  authorised  to  order  the  removal 
of  projecting  signs,  but  this  clause  was  so  oflFensive  to  the 
trading  community  that  the  power  remained  dormant  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  The  clause  dealing  with  wagons  and 
carts  belonging  to  Bristolians  forbade  the  use  of  iron  tires  of 
less  than  six  inches  in  breadth.  The  lighting  clauses  were 
put  in  operation  in  1 750,  and  eflfected  a  striking  improve- 
ment, the  number  of  lamps  being  increased  nearly  fourfold. 
St.  James's,  which  had  not  a  single  lamp  in  1738,  was 
allotted  104  out  of  a  total  of  660. 

Amongst  the  perils  of  the  streets   which   ladies  had  to 
encounter  at  this  period  was  the  violence  of  a  base  class  of 
men  styled  "  informers,'^  who  gained  a  living  by  enforcing 
the  fiscal  laws  concerning  apparel.     In  1745,  after  the  out- 
break of  war  with  France,  an  Act  was  passed  prohibiting 
the  sale  of  French  cambric,  and  inflicting  a  penalty  of  £5  on 
persons  wearing  it,  half  the  fine  being  allotted  to  those  who 
put  the  law  in  motion.     The  "  informers  "  were  accustomed 
to  stop  ladies  in  the  streets,  though  they  often  did  so  at  their 
peril.     On  the  28th  March,  1749,  a  man  who  had  snatched 
oflf  a  woman's  cap  in  one  of  the  streets  of  London  was  so 
mercilessly  whipped  by  the  mob  that  he  died  soon  after- 
wards.    A  writer  in  the  Bri^ol  Jotittial  of  the  same  week 
says  : — "  It  is  notorious  that  several  ladies  of  this  city  have 
been  so  far  insulted  as  to  have  the  frils  of  their  caps,  aprons, 
&c.,  violently  tore,  cut,  and  rended  from  them  with  abusive 
language ; "  and  the  local  populace  is  unlikely  to  have  been 
more  forbearing  than  that  of  the  capital.     A  new  Act,  per- 
mitting ladies  to  wear  cambrics  purchased  before  1748,  put 
an  end  to  the  scandal. 

The  statue  of  William  III.  appears  to  have  shown  early 
signs  of  dilapidation.  The  civic  chamberlain  was  directed, 
in  April,  1749,  to  write  to  Mr.  "  Rysbrac  "  informing  him 
"  that  it  was  in  so  ruinous  a  condition  there  was  a  danger  of 
its  total  decay  unless  some  speedy  and  effectual  means  were 
used  to  repair  it.''  The  sculptor  seems  to  have  repudiated 
his  liability,  for  repairs  to  the  statue  and  pedestal  cost  the 
Chamber  £111  in  the  following  year.  The  matter  aroused 
the  ire  of  the  Jacobites,  for  a  profuse  display  of  white  roses 
was  made  by  the  Tory  ladies  on  the  following  10th  June. 

Durdham  Down  races,  rarely  noticed  in  the  early  news- 
papers, were  popular  at  this  period.  The  Oracle  of  May 
20th,  1749,  stated  that  the  sports,  "  for  which  great  prepara- 
tions had  been  making  for  a  fortnight  before,'*  began  on  the 
previous  Monday.     "  The  course  was  enlarged,  the  ground 


1749.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  279 

levelled,  and  a  great  number  of  booths  and  scaffolds  erected 
for  the  accommodation  of  spectators,  who  were  vastly  more 
numerous  than  had  ever  been  seen  there  on  any  other 
occasion/'  For  the  prize  of  the  day,  a  silver  punchbowl, 
gold  watch,  &c.,  value  £60,  two  horses,  carrying  ten  stones, 
ran  three  heats  of  four  miles  each,  and  the  affair  was  not 
decided  until  nearly  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  On  Tues- 
day a  race  for  £20  was  run  on  the  same  course,  "  and  on 
Wednesday  began  the  foot  races,  when  3  gs.  were  run 
for  by  two  men,  naked ;  and  a  Holland  smock  and  one 
guinea  by  five  women,  which  was  won  by  a  Kingswood 
girl."  Owing  to  the  large  attendance  at  these  annual  sports, 
another  inn,  called  the  New  Ostrich,  was  opened  on  the 
edge  of  the  Down  in  competition  with  the  original  Ostrich, 
which  was  largely  patronised  by  people  of  fashion  from  the 
Hot  AVell. 

Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  the  patroness  of  the 
Whitefield  sect  of  Methodists,  was  a  frequent  sojourner  at 
the  Hot  Well  about  the  middle  of  the  centurv.  During  one 
of  these  visits,  in  July,  1749,  she  ransomed  thirty-four  poor 
insolvents  in  Newgate,  whose  debts  were  under  £10  each. 
The  captives  included  seven  persons  who,  though  acquitted 
of  the  crimes  for  which  they  had  been  arrested,  were  de- 
tained in  gaol  through  their  inability  to  pay  the  fees  de- 
manded by  the  prison  authorities. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  August,  1749,  a  pension  of 
dt30  a  year  was  voted  to  Andrew  Hooke,  Esq.,  in  reward 
for  his  services  to  the  Corporation  in  furthering  the  erection 
of  the  Exchange.  A  further  pension  of  £20  was  granted  by 
the  Merchants'  Society.  Mr.  Hooke,  descended  from  a 
wealthy  Bristol  family,  and  himself  a  magistrate  for 
Gloucestershire,  was  a  man  of  literary  attainments,  but 
appears  to  have  fallen  from  affluence  to  poverty  through 
unfortunate  speculations.  His  newspaper,  the  Oracle^  has 
been  already  mentioned.  A  history  of  the  city,  entitled 
"  Bristollia,"  was  another  of  his  many  projects,  but  only  two 
small  parts  were  published.  After  his  death,  in  17B3,  his 
widow  supported  herself  and  family  by  keeping  a  coffee 
house  at  Jacob's  Wells,  where  she  printed  the  playbills  for 
the  neighbouring  theatre.  In  1766,  on  the  opening  of  the 
new  theatre  in  King  Street,  the  unfortunate  old  lady  re- 
moved her  press  to  the  Maiden  Tavern  in  Baldwin  Street, 
where  she  continued  to  print  for  several  years. 

On  the  25th  August,  a  foreign  sailor  named  Abseny, 
who  had  lodged  at  a  solitary  publichouse  called  the  White 


280  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1749. 

Ladies,  "  on  the  footpath  leading  to  Durdham  Down  "  (the 
site  is  now  covered  by  the  eastern  end  of  South  Parade), 
was  hanged  and  gibbeted  on  the  Down,  in  company  with 
the  Vodies  of  Bumet  and  Payne  (see  p.  248),  for  murdering 
a  girl  of  thirteen  years,  who  acted  as  servant  at  the 
inn.  On  the  same  day,  Jeremiah  Hill  was  hanged  at  St. 
Michael's  gallows,  for  having,  in  conjunction  with  two 
confederates,  who  escaped,  murdered  a  prostitute  by  tying 
her  up  in  a  sack,  and  throwing  her  into  the  harbour.  The 
two  crimes  excited  a  profound  sensation  in  the  city.  Abseny, 
in  killing  the  girl,  cut  his  hand  so  deeply  that  he  was 
tracked  by  his  own  blood  all  the  way  to  Hungroad,  where 
he  had  taken  a  boat  to  an  outward-bound  vessel. 

The  institution  of  an  annual  dinner  to  commemorate  the 
birth  of  Edward  Colston  has  been  noticed  under  1726.  As 
the  gatherings  in  question  were  of  a  non-political  character, 
the  Tory  party  now  resolved  to  hold  a  festival  amongst 
themselves,  and  on  the  2nd  November,  1749,  eighteen 
gentleman  sat  down  to  the  first  "  Dolphin ''  banquet, 
Francis  Woodward  presiding.  The  first  "  collection  "  for 
charitable  purposes  was  made  two  years  later,  and  amounted 
to  j£4  17«.  The  contributions  slowly  increased  as  the  society 
became  more  popular,  and  in  .the  last  year  of  the  century 
reached  £195  16«.  6rf.  Although  somewhat  anticipating 
dates,  it  may  be  as  well  to  record  at  once  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  two  other  societies  still  in  existence.  The 
"  Grateful  "  was  established  in  1759,  its  promoters  soliciting 
the  support  of  those  who  had  been  educated  at  Colston's 
School,  and  recommending  that  the  after-dinner  collection, 
instead  of  being  distributed  in  doles  of  bread  and  money,  as 
was  then  the  practice,  should  be  devoted  to  apprenticing 
freemen's  sons  and  relieving  real  distress.  At  the  first 
dinner,  held  at  the  Ship  inn.  Small  Street,  at  2  o'clock  p.m., 
twenty-two  persons  attended,  the  collection  amounting  to 
£16  11.9.  6rf.  It  had  increased  to  £191  in  ISTO.  The 
"  Anchor  "  was  founded  by  the  Whigs  in  November,  1768, 
when  it  was  resolved  to  hold  an  evening  meeting  once  a 
month  at  the  Three  Tuns  tavern  in  Com  Street,  each 
member  paying  10s,  6d.  as  an  entrance  fee  to  a  fund  for 
charitable  purposes.  The  first  dinner  took  place  in  the 
following  year,  when  twenty-two  citizens  assembled  under 
the  presidency  of  Gilbert  Davis,  and  £12  Is.  6d.  were  col- 
lected. The  monthly  suppers,  costing  8d.  a  head  until  1773, 
when  the  charge  was  increased  to  a  shilling,  seem  to  have 
been  for  some  time  more  popular  than  the  dinners,  but  were 


1749-50.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  281 

eventually  dropped.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  of  the 
century,  in  spite  of  the  forlorn  condition  of  the  party  in 
Parliament,  the  yearly  benefactions  averaged  over  jKSOO. 

Presumably  from  their  action  in  reference  to  the  Lighting 
Act,  the  members  of  Parliament  for  the  city  were  very 
unpopular  in  corporate  circles.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council 
in  December,  the  usual  vote  of  a  pipe  of  wine  to  the 
members  was  evaded  by  a  resort  to  "  the  previous  question.'' 
This  offended  the  representatives  in  their  turn,  and  when 
the  motion  for  the  customary  gift  was  passed  a  twelvemonth 
later,  Mr.  Southwell,  in  a  letter  from  Kingsweston,  expressed 
his  obligations  for  the  "  usual  compliment  in  lieu  of  the 
ancient  wages  of  service  in  Parliament,''  but  as  "  the  ancient 
custom  was  discontinued  last  year,"  he  declined  the  renewal 
of  it,  though  he  would  continue  his  faithful  services.  A 
similar  refusal  was  sent  by  Mr.  Hoblyn,  from  Cornwall. 
The  customary  present  was  not  again  offered  by  the  Council 
until  after  the  general  election  of  1764. 

The  looseness  of  police  in  the  suburban  districts  was  a 
great  encouragement  to  dissipation  and  crime.  The  Bristol 
Intelligencer  of  December  16th,  1749, "  hears  "  from  Westbury- 
on-Trym  that  crowds  of  "  dissolute  and  disorderly  persons 
have  been  entertained  at  about  seven  or  eight  unruly  public 
houses  near  the  Gallows  on  St.  Michael's  Hill,  and  many 
insults  and  robberies  committed  on  the  market  people  and 
others  travelling  thereabout.  But  the  gentlemen  of  that 
parish  having  bravely  prosecuted  and  caused  several  penal- 
ties to  be  levied  on  the  keepers  of  the  houses,  they  are  all 
routed  away." 

St.  Peter's  church  being  in  a  state  of  great  decay,  a  faculty 
was  obtained  in  1749  to  repair  and  "  beautify  "  the  edifice, 
and  upwards  of  £800  were  spent  on  the  renovation.  Mr. 
Barrett  states  that  £420  12«.  of  the  outlay  were  raised  by  a 
rate  of  is.  3d.  in  the  pound  on  the  landowners ;  but  the 
figures  seem  irreconcilable  with  the  historian's  subsequent 
assertion  that  there  were  203  houses  in  the  parish  in  1749, 
paying  £22b  in  poor  rates  at  ll^rf.  in  the  pound. 

On  the  10th  January,  1760,  the  Bristol  vessel  Phoenix, 
Captain  Carbry,  arrived  at  Kingroad  after  a  remarkable 
adventure.  The  ship  was  off  Lisbon  on  the  22nd  December, 
with  a  cargo  from  Malaga,  when  she  was  boarded  by  an 
Algerine  corsair  of  30  guns.  Carbry  had  one  of  the 
passes  which  European  Powers  then  allowed  their  merchant- 
men to  purchase  from  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  but  under  pretence 
that  this  document  was  a  forgery,  the  Phoenix  was  seized  as 


282  THE    ANNALS    OF    BRISTOL  [1750. 

a  prize  by  the  pirates,  who  sent  six  Turks  on  board  with 
instructions  to  make  for  Algiers.  On  the  passage,  however, 
Carbry,  assisted  by  three  of  his  crew,  recovered  his  ship 
after  flinging  two  of  the  pirates  overboard.  He  was  warmly 
praised  for  his  bravery  on  his  arrival  in  Bristol.  The  above 
account,  which  varies  slightly  from  that  in  the  local  journals, 
is  taken  from  Carbry's  affidavit  forwarded  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  now  in  the  Record  Office. 

The  first  banking  company  established  in  Bristol  was 
formed  early  in  March,  1760,  and  the  proprietors  opened 
their  offices  in  Broad  Street  on  the  Jst  August.  The 
partners  in  the  enterprise  were  Isaac  Elton,  Harford  Lloyd, 
William  Miller,  Thomas  Knox,  and  Matthew  Hale.  Some 
local  annalists  have  asserted  that  when  this  institution  was 
opened,  the  only  banking  house  out  of  London  was  one  at 
Derby,  kept  by  a  Jew.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  private  bankers 
were  then  to  be  found  in  all  the  chief  provincial  towns, 
though  banking  was  rarely  their  professed  occupation.  One 
of  the  earliest  in  Bristol  was  one  Kichard  Bayly,  who  was 
employed  by  the  Corporation  to  remit  money  to  London  in 
1685.  About  twenty  years  later,  banking  business  was 
transacted  by  a  bookseller  named  Wall,  in  Corn  Street,  and 
after  his  death  his  widow  carried  on  both  branches  of  his 
trade  for  many  years  with  great  reputation.  John  Vaughan, 
a  goldsmith  living  at  the  corner  of  Wine  Street  and  High 
Street,  was  at  the  same  time  conducting  financial  transac- 
tions on  a  more  extensive  scale,  and  they  were  continued  by 
his  son,  who  will  presently  be  found  cooperating  in  the 
establishment  of  a  second  banking  company.  In  the  city 
of  Gloucester,  James  Wood,  a  prosperous  draper,  began  to 
be  known  as  a  banker  in  1716.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  and  grandson,  the  latter  of  whom  became  famous  for 
his  vast  wealth,  eccentricity,  and  sordidness.  The  Woods 
had  an  early  rival,  the  Gloucester  Journal  of  May  17th,  1748, 
making  mention  of  *'  T.  Price,  banker  and  jeweller  in  this 
city."  Returning  to  the  new  (which  soon  acquired  the  title 
of  the  "  Old  ^')  Bristol  bank,  the  company,  in  April,  1776, 
announced  their  removal  from  Broad  Street  to  **  the  house 
erected  for  their  business  at  the  upper  end  of  Clare  Street, 
and  adjoining  to  Corn  Street."  (Leonardos  Lane  then  formed 
the  point  of  division  between  the  two  thoroughfares.)  The 
removal  to  the  present  site  took  place  nearly  half  a  century 
later. 

After  what  has  been  already  said  respecting  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Kingswood  colliers,  one  is  not  surprised 


1750.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  283 

to  learn  that  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the  district  gave 
Bishop  Butler  much  anxiety  during  the  later  years  of  his 
residence  in  Bristol.  At  his  instigation,  a  committee  of  the 
Council  was  appointed  to  consider  the  advisability  of  separa- 
ting Kingswood  from  the  extensive  and  populous  parish  of  St. 
Philip,  the  bishop  offering  to  give  £400  (more  than  a  j^ear^s 
income  of  his  see)  towards  the  endowment  of  a  new  church. 
The  committee  reported  in  August,  1760,  in  favour  of  the 
scheme,  and  on  their  recommendation  the  Chamber  sub- 
scribed £2B0  towards  the  building  fund,  on  condition  that 
the  patronage  of  the  new  living  should  be  vested  in  the 
Corporation.  A  further  donation  of  £260  was  made  in  1766. 
(The  advowson  was  sold  about  eighty  years  later  for  over 
£2,000.)  An  Act  to  authorise  the  division  of  the  parish  was 
obtained  in  1761.  A  satirical  comparison  in  a  local  paper 
between  the  open-handedness  of  Bristolians  in  rearing  the 
new  Assembly  Room  in  Prince's  Street  and  their  apathy  as 
regarded  the  edifice  at  Kingswood — the  first  local  church 
erected  for  nearly  300  years — indicates  the  religious  lethargy 
that  then  prevailed  in  the  Establishment.  The  foundation 
stone  of  the  church  was  laid  by  the  mayor  on  the  3rd  March, 
1762,  and  the  edifice  was  consecrated  on  the  6th  September, 
1766,  by  Bishop  Hume.  It  had  cost  about  £2,000.  How 
little  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  population  was  considered 
by  some  of  the  promoters  of  the  scheme  may  be  imagined 
from  the  fact  that  the  first  incumbent  appointed — William 
Gary — was  non-resident,  being  already  rector  of  Winter- 
bourne,  rector  of  St.  Philip's,  and  chancellor  of  the  diocese. 

The  promotion  of  Kingswood  Church  was  one  of  the  latest 
incidents  in  the  local  episcopacy  of  Dr.  Butler.  In  August, 
1760,  he  was  translated  to  Durham.  During  his  twelve 
years'  connection  with  Bristol  he  is  said  to  have  expended 
nearly  £6,000  in  the  restoration  of  the  palace  and  private 
chapel  in  Lower  College  Green.  It  is  now  amusing  to  read 
that  the  bishop  fell  under  suspicion  of  being  a  Papist  through 
his  ordering  a  plain  white  marble  cross  to  be  placed  at  the 
back  of  the  communion  table  in  this  chapel.  (Lord  Chan- 
cellor Hardwicke  subsequently  urged  Bishop  Yonge  to  re- 
move this  ornament.  Coles'  MSS.,  British  Museum.)  One  of 
Butler's  peculiarities  was  a  fondness  for  walking  for  some 
hours  in  the  palace  garden  at  night,  especially  on  dark 
nights.  Dr.  Tucker,  then  his  chaplain,  who  was  frequently 
his  companion  in  these  perambulations,  states  that  one  wild 
evening,  while  the  wind  was  howling  around  the  Cathedral, 
the  bishop  suddenly  astounded  him  by  inquiring  whether 


284  THE    ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1750. 

he  did  not  think  it  probable  that  nations,  like  men,  were 
sometimes  stricken  with  insanity.  Nothing  else,  he  added, 
could  account  for  many  striking  facts  in  history.  Dr. 
Butler's  health  having  failed  soon  after  his  removal  to 
Durham,  he  returned  to  the  Hot  Well,  and  subsequently 
went  to  Bath,  where  he  died  on  the  16th  June,  1762.  At 
his  request,  his  remains  were  interred  in  Bristol  Cathedral, 
at  the  foot  of  the  episcopal  chair. 

Dr.  Tucker,  referred  to  above,  published  in  1750  an 
"  Essay  on  Trade,"  remarkable  for  its  exposition  of  principles 
far  in  advance  of  the  age.  The  writer,  who  had  become 
rector  of  St.  Stephen's  a  few  months  before,  advocated  the 
throwing  open  of  English  ports,  the  liberation  of  trade  and 
industry  from  numberless  oppressive  restrictions,  and  the 
sweeping  away  of  monopolies,  duties,  bounties,  and  pro- 
hibitions— in  short,  asserting  those  principles  of  free  trade 
inculcated  many  years  later  by  Adam  Smith  in  the  "  Wealth 
of  Nations."  In  1762,  under  instructions  from  the  Court,  Dr. 
Tucker  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  "  Elements  of  Commerce  and 
Theory  of  Taxes  "  for  the  instruction  of  the  young  Prince 
of  Wales,  afterwards  George  III.  He  was  appointed,  in 
1756,  a  prebendary  of  the  Cathedral,  a  post  which  he  re- 
linquished in  1758  on  being  appointed  dean  of  Gloucester. 
He  retained,  however,  the  rectory  of  St.  Stephen's,  and 
continued  to  be  a  prominent  personage  in  Bristol  until 
nearly  the  close  of  the  century. 

In  August,  1750,  the  Common  Council  appointed  John 
Wraxall  to  the  office  of  swordbearer,  a  comfortably  endowed 
post,  often  bestowed  on  fallen  greatness.  Mr.  Wraxall,  who 
had  been  an  extensive  linen  draper  and  a  master  of  the 
Merchants'  Society,  long  occupied  a  house  and  shop  on 
Bristol  Bridge.  In  December,  1778,  Nathaniel  Wraxall,  a 
member  of  the  same  family,  and  father  of  the  once  famous 
Sir  Nathaniel  William  Wraxall,  Bart.,  but  who  had  been 
unfortunate  in  business  as  a  merchant,  was  also  appointed 
swordbearer.  Southey  states  that  the  baronet's  mother 
resided  for  many  years  in  Terrill  Street. 

The  value  of  agricultural  land  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  city  was  still  very  low  in  1750.  An  advertisement  in 
the  Btnsfol  Journal  of  September  8th  offers  for  sale  a  farm 
house  and  45  acres  of  land  at  Redland.  The  farm,  which 
was  tithe  free,  let  at  jK40  per  annum. 

Dr.  Newton,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  relates  in  his  memoirs  a 
local  anecdote  of  Robert  Henley,  many  years  leader  of  the 
western  circuit,  and  afterwards  known  as  Lord   Chancellor 


1750.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  285 

Northington,  the  date  of  which  may  be  assigned  to  about 
1760.  During  the  Bristol  Assizes,  says  the  Bishop,  in  a 
cause  of  some  consequence,  Mr.  [William]  Reeve,  a  consider- 
able Quaker  merchant,  was  cross-examined  by  Henley  with 
much  raillery  and  ridicule.  When  the  court  had  adjourned, 
and  the  lawyers  were  gathered  at  the  White  Lion,  Mr. 
Henley  was  informed  that  a  gentleman  desired  to  see  him 
in  an  adjoining  room,  and  on  the  counsellor  responding  to 
the  summons  he  found  Mr.  Reeve,  who  locked  the  door,  put 
the  key  in  his  pocket,  and  forthwith  demanded  satisfaction  for 
the  scurrilous  treatment  he  had  received.  "  Thou  might'st 
think,  perhaps,  thiat  a  Quaker  might  be  insulted  with  im- 
punity, but  I  am  a  man  of  spirit.  Here  are  two  swords,  here 
are  two  pistols ;  choose  thy  weapons,  or  fight  me  at  fisty 
cuffs  if  thou  had'st  rather ;  but  fight  me  thou  shalt,  or  beg 
my  pardon."  Henley  pleaded  the  privileges  of  the  bar,  but 
was  finally  forced  to  say  that  if  he  had  offended  Mr.  Reeve 
he  was  sorry  for  it,  and  was  ready  to  beg  his  pardon.  The 
resolute  Quaker  replied  that  as  the  affront  was  public  the 
reparation  must  be  so  too,  and  Henley,  after  some  resistance, 
apologised  to  Mr.  Reeve  before  the  barristers  regaling  them- 
selves in  the  hotel.  Some  years  afterwards,  when  Henley 
had  become  Lord  Chancellor,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Reeve,  stating 
that  he  had  ordered  two  pipes  of  Madeira  to  be  imported 
into  Bristol,  and  begging  the  merchant  to  pay  the  charges 
on  them,  and  to  forward  them  to  their  destination.  This 
was  done  as  desired  ;  and  the  winter  following,  when  Mr. 
Reeve  was  in  town,  he  dined  at  the  Chancellor's  with 
several  of  the  nobility  and  gentry.  After  dinner,  the  Chan- 
cellor related  the  story  of  what  had  passed  when  he  made 
Mr.  Reeve's  acquaintance,  to  the  no  little  diversion  of  the 
company.  Lord  Campbell,  in  his  customary  anxiety  to 
heighten  the  effect  of  his  stories,  dubs  Mr.  Reeve  "  Zephan- 
iah,"  in  his  "Lives  of  the  Chancellors."  In  July,  1767, 
William  Raeve  and  three  other  leading  merchants,  on  behalf 
of  the  Union  (Whig)  Club,  invited  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to 
the  anniversary  dinner  of  the  society  at  Merchants'  Hall. 
Mr.  Reeve  built  a  large  mansion  at  Arno's  Vale,  to  which  he 
added  the  stables  and  offices  locally  known  as  Black  Castle. 
Horace  Walpole,  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  styled  the  place 
*^the  Devil's  Cathedral."  Whilst  the  buildings  were  in 
progress,  some  of  the  old  gateways  of  the  city  were  being  re- 
moved, and  Mr.  Reeve  obtained  lour  figures  and  other  carved 
stonework  from  the  relics,  which  he  inserted  in  the  walls 
and  entrance  archway.     Subsequently  the  disruption  of  com- 


286  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1750. 

mercial  relations  with  America  was  disastrous  to  Mr.  Reeve, 
and  his  property  came  into  the  market.  It  was  then  dis- 
covered that  the  unfortunate  gentleman,  although  a  Quaker, 
was  the  owner  of  the  tithes  of  the  parish  of  Brislington ! 
{Felux  Farley's  Journal,  Oct,  29th,  1786). 

Mr.  Hugh  Owen,  in  his  "  Two  Centuries  of  Ceramic  Art 
in  Bristol,"  and  Mr.  Llewellin  Jewett,  whose  account  of 
Bristol  productions  in  his  "  Ceramic  Art  of  Great  Britain  " 
is  chiefly  copied  from  Mr.  Owen,  concur  in  asserting  that 
the  first  attempt  to  produce  an  imitation  of  Chinese  porcelain 
in  this  city  dates  from  176B ;  the  evidence  relied  upon  being 
certain  letters  written  by  Richard  Champion  in  the  closing 
months  of  that  year,  in  which  a  small  factory  is  mentioned 
as  having  been  just  established,  and  again  as  having  been 
closed.  The  discovery  of  a  file  of  the  Binstol  Intelligencer, 
however,  has  brought  to  light  some  new  and  interesting 
facts  bearing  on  the  subject,  proving  that  the  above  authors 
have  post-dated  the  earliest  Bristol  China  works  by  at  least 
fifteen  years.  In  the  newspaper  in  question,  dated  Decem- 
ber 12th,  1760,  is  an  advertisement  commencing  as  follows  : — 
*•  Whereas  for  some  time  past  attempts  have  been  made  in 
this  city  to  introduce  a  manufacture  in  imitation  of  China 
ware,  and  the  Proprietors,  having  brought  the  said  under- 
taking to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection,  have  deter- 
mined to  extend  their  works."  The  announcement  goes  on 
to  inform  parents  and  guardians  of  lads  above  14  years  that, 
if  lodgings  and  necessaries  be  provided  during  their  appren- 
ticeship, youths  will  be  learnt  the  art  of  pottery  as  practised 
in  Staffordshire,  without  charge.  The  manuscript  travels 
of  Dr.  Pocock,  Bishop  of  Meath,  now  in  the  British  Museum, 
contain  two  interesting  references  to  this  manufactory. 
When  in  Cornwall  in  1760,  the  tourist  made  the  following  note 
dated  October  13th : — "  Visited  the  Lizard  Point  to  see  the 
Soapy  Rock.  There  are  white  patches  in  it,  which  is  mostly 
valued  for  making  porcelane,  now  carrying  on  at  Bristol. 
They  get  £6  a  ton  for  it."  In  a  note  dated  Bristol,  Novem- 
ber 2nd,  1760,  Dr.  Pocock  adds : — "  I  went  to  see  a  manu- 
facture lately  established  here  by  one  of  the  principals  of 
the  manufacture  at  Limehouse,  which  failed.  It  is  at  a 
glass-house,  and  is  called  Lowris  (?)  china-house.  They 
have  two  sorts  of  ware,  oue  called  stone  china,  which  has 
a  yellow  cast;  that  I  suppose  is  made  of  pipe-clay  and 
calcined  flint.  The  other  they  call  old  China;  this  is  whiter, 
and  I  suppose  is  made  of  calcined  flint  and  the  soapy  rock 
at  Lizard  Point,  which  tis  known  they  usa.     This  is  painted 


1750.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  287 

blue,  and  some  is  white  like  the  old  china  of  a  yellowish 
cast.  Another  kind  is  white  with  a  blueish  cast,  and  both 
are  called  ornamental  white  china.  They  make  very 
beautiful  white  sauce-boats,  adorned  with  reliefs  of  festoons, 
which  sell  for  16s.  a  pair."  In  the  Intelligencer  of  July  20th, 
1761,  is  the  following  : — '•  This  is  to  give  notice.  That  the 
ware  made  in  this  city  for  some  time  past  in  imitation  of 
foreign  China  is  now  sold  at  the  Proprietors*  warehouse  in 
Castle  Green,  at  the  end  near  the  Castle  Gate.  For  the 
future  no  ware  will  be  sold  at  the  place  where  it  is  manu- 
factured, nor  will  any  person  be  admitted  to  enter  there 
without  leave  from  the  Proprietors."  The  names  of  those 
concerned  in  the  works  have  not  been  found,  but  it  may  be 
added  that  Champion  was  only  seven  years  of  age  in  1760. 

This  reference  to  Bristol  China  may  appropriately  intro- 
duce a  few  facts  bearing  upon  local  potteries.  The  existence 
at  the  beginning  of  the  century  of  a  small  Delft  ware  factory 
in  Bristol  has  been  already  mentioned,  but  unfortunately 
little  is  known  respecting  the  manufacturers.  The  initials 
on  an  existing  specimen,  dated  1703,  are  S.  M.  B.  Another, 
of  1716,  has  no  maker's  name ;  a  third,  of  1722,  is  marked 
M.  S.  About  the  latter  date,  the  pottery,  which  was  situated 
at  Eedcliff  Back,  came  into  the  hands  of  Richard  Frank, 
commonly  called  a  gallipot  maker,  son  of  Thomas  Frank, 
who  had  also  followed  the  same  trade,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  only  potter  in  Bristol  in  1697.  Richard 
Frank  produced  a  quantity  of  plates  and  dishes,  as  well  as 
imitation  Dutch  tiles  for  fire  places,  dairies,  etc.  His  finest 
work  at  present  known  is  a  slab,  composed  of  twenty-four 
tiles,  on  which  is  painted  a  view  of  Redclijff  Church.  This 
is  now  in  the  Museum  of  Practical  Geology.  As  the  arms  of 
Bishop  Butler  appear  on  one  of  the  tiles,  the  slab  (which  for 
many  years  ornamented  the  window-bed  of  a  Bristol  bacon 
dealer)  must  have  been  produced  between  1738  and  1760. 
Several  specimens  in  the  hands  of  private  collectors  range 
between  the  same  years.  Frank  afterwards  took  his  son 
Thomas  into  partnership,  and  the  works  were  removed  in 
1776  to  a  factory  in  Water  Lane,  previously  occupied  by  a 
stone-ware  potter.  In  1784  they  were  purchased  by  Joseph 
Ring,  a  son  in  law  of  Richard  Frank,  who  in  1786  began  to 
manufacture  what  was  known  as  Queen's  ware,  and  the 
making  of  Delft  was  abandoned  two  years  later.  A  con- 
temporary of  Frank  was  John  Townsend,  of  whom  the  little 
we  know  is  derived  from  the  corporate  archives.  Describing 
himself  asa  *'  muggmaker,"  Townsend  petitioned  the  Council 


288  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1750-51. 

in  1739,  representing  that  about  four  years  previously  he  had 
built  a  mugg-kiln  in  Tucker  Street  at  a  cost  of  £130,  and 
carried  on  business  there  until  December,  1738,  when  the 
Corporation,  as  owners  of  the  land,  had  ordered  him  to  stop 
the  works,  for  which  he  prayed  compensation.  His  name 
does  not  appear  again.  Another  local  Delft  potter  was 
Joseph  Flower,  whose  name  first  occurs  in  1741.  In  1776 
he  lived  on  the  Quay,  but  removed  in  1777  to  Corn  Street, 
"the  shop  adjoining  the  Post  Office,"  where  he  remained 
until  his  death  in  1786.  Specimens  of  his  work,  says  Mr. 
Jewett,  are  regarded  as  superior  to  most  Bristol  Delft,  and 
are  in  fact  equal  to  Dutch.  Returning  to  Ring's  production 
of  Queen^s,  or  Staffordshire,  ware,  a  few  extracts  from  ^n 
invoice  accompanying  two  crates,  "  sent  to  Calls  for  a  sam- 
ple,'' in  December,  1787,  show  the  remarkable  prices  of  that 
age : — "  6  ovil  dishes.  Is,  8  doz.  table  plates,  12*\  6  sallad 
dishes,  11  inches,  Ss,  6d,  3  3-pint  coffee  pots,  2«.  6d.  2 
sugar  dishes,  with  covers,  4d.  4  doz.  coffee  cups,  2.^.  4  dozen 
coffee  cups  and  saucers  paynted,  4«.  4d.  1  doz.  table  plates 
paynted,  2s,  3d,  1  doz.  quart  mugs  varigated,  bs.  1  doz. 
pint  do.  do.,  2^.  6d." 

An  interesting  list  of  Bristol  carriers  in  a  "  Guide  to  Bath 
and  Bristol,"  published  in  1750,  shows  the  great  develop- 
ment attained  by  that  branch  of  traffic.  The  number  of 
carriers  plying  to  and  from  the  city  was  ninety-four,  many 
of  whom  must  have  had  several  wagons,  as  some  of  the 
vehicles  transported  goods  to  Leeds,  Nottingham,  and  other 
distant  towns.  The  chief  inns  at  which  the  carriers  were 
stationed  were  the  White  Lion,  Thomas  Street,  and  the 
Three  Queens,  Thomas  Street,  which  each  harboured  twelve. 
Eight  stood  at  the  Dolphin  Inn,  Dolphin  Lane;  seven  at 
the  Horse  Shoe,  Wine  Street,  and  at  the  George,  Temple 
Gate ;  nine  at  the  George,  Castle  Street ;  and  six  at  the 
Bell,  Thomas  Street.  Four  London  wagons  had  ware- 
houses in  Peter  Street. 

In  January,  1761,  was  published  **  An  Hymn  to  the 
Nymph  of  Bristol  Spring  (with  beautiful  Cuts,  price 
Is,  6(i.),"  by  William  Whitehead,  who  a  few  years  later  was 
honoured  with  the  office  of  Poet  Laureate.  Mr.  Whitehead's 
so-called  poem  is  a  finished  specimen  of  the  bastard  classicism 
in  vogue  at  that  drearily  prosaic  period.  Avonia,  dishonoured 
by  Neptune,  is  endowed  by  him,  as  an  atonement,  with  the 
power  of  healing  diseases,  especially  those  that  have  relation 
to  Love,  and  is  always  attended  by  her  handmaids,  Mirth 
and  Peace.     The  respective  beauties  of  the  other  English 


1751.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  289 

spas  are  declared  to  be  united  in  Avonia's  retreat,  which  has. 
an  attraction  peculiar  to  itself  in  the  "  lurking  "  diamonds 
which  **  mimic  those  of  Ind."  An  incomprehensible  episode 
follows,  in  honour  of  a  certain  Ley  a,  who  is  said  to  have 
given  her  name  to  the  village  of  Leigh;  and  Avonia  is  finally 
petitioned  to  diffuse  her  healing  influence  over  foreign 
nations,  as  her  waters  never  lose  their  virtue  by  time  or 
change  of  climate — a  little  puff  for  which  the  Bristol  bottle 
makers  were  doubtless  grateful.  Mr.  Whitehead's  poem 
seems  to  have  had  some  influence  on  the  attendance  at  the 
Weil  during  the  following  summer,  the  London  Morning 
Post  of  August  2nd  observing  : — "  We  hear  from  Bristol  that 
there  is  the  fullest  season  ever  known  at  the  Hot  Wells." 

William  Champion,  of  Bristol,  merchant,  who  had  obtained 
a  patent  in  1737  for  manufacturing  spelter  (zinc)  from 
English  ores,  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons  in  1751  for 
a  renewal  of  his  privilege.  He  asserted  that  previous  to  his 
discovery  spelter  was  obtained  solely  from  the  East  Indies, 
the  price  being  at  one  time  raised  by  the  combination  df 
importers  to  £260  per  ton.  Having  erected  large  works  [at 
Warmley]  in  which  many  hundred  men  were  employed,  he 
had  produced  spelter  of  the  best  quality,  whereupon  his 
rivals,  importing  excessive  supplies,  had  reduced  the  price 
per  ton  to  £48,  though  at  a  heavy  loss  to  themselves.  Being 
a  great  sufferer  from  this  proceeding,  he  prayed  for  an 
extension  of  his  patent.  The  House  ordered  a  Bill  to  be 
brought  in  for  that  purpose,  but  owing  to  an  opposition 
organised  in  Lancashire  the  measure  was  dropped. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1751,  Mr.  Nugent,  a  member  of  the 
Government,  who  subsequently  represented  Bristol  in  three 
Parliaments,  brought  forward  a  Bill  for  the  naturalisation 
of  foreign  Protestants,  refugees  from  the  persecution  of  the 
Romanist  powers  of  the  continent.  A  similar  Bill  had 
become  law  in  1708,  but  was  repealed  under  the  Tory 
Ministry  of  1711.  Its  revival  excited  alarm  in  many 
quarters,  and  several  corporations  petitioned  against  it, 
alleging  that  such  an  encouragement  to  immigration  would 
flood  the  labour  market,  and  throw  English  workmen  out  of 
employment.  The  Common  Council  and  the  Merchants' 
Society  of  Bristol  supported  the  measure,  which  also  found 
a  warm  advocate  in  the  Rev.  Josiah  Tucker,  rector  of  St. 
Stephen's,  who  published  an  able  pamphlet  on  the  subject. 
On  the  other  hand  a  number  of  citizens  memorialised  the 
Commons  against  the  scheme,  disapproving  of  its  provisions, 
and   asserting   that   the   two   local   petitions  in  its  favour 

V 


290  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1751. 

expressed  the  opinion  of  less  than  forty  persons.  (The 
Opposition  in  London  seized  the  opportunity  to  reprint  Sir 
John  Knight's  famous  tirade  of  1694  against  foreign  Pro- 
testants. The  rancorous  effusion  of  the  old  Bristol  Jacobite 
appeared  in  Read's  Journal  of  March  9th,  17B1.)  The 
Ministry,  with  characteristic  timidity,  withdrew  the  Bill 
just  before  the  third  reading,  in  April.  The  intelligence 
was  received  with  rejoicing  by  the  opposition  in  Bristol. 
The  church  bells  rang  merry  peals,  while  the  populace 
patrolled  the  streets  with  Tucker's  eiJBgy,  which  was  igno- 
miniously  burnt. 

Petitions  to  the  House  of  Commons  were  forwarded  during 
the  session  by  the  Corporation  and  the  Merchants'  Society, 
expressing  great  concern  at  the  excessive  drinking  of  gin 
and  other  spirits  amongst  the  working  classes,  leading  to 
frequent  instances  of  sudden  death,  the  general  depravation  of 
health  and  morals,  and  the  increase  of  crime  and  poverty.  In 
consequence  of  numerous  petitions  to  the  same  effect,  an  Act 
was  passed,  the  preamble  of  which  asserted  that  the  above 
evils  arose  in  a  great  measure  from  the  number  of  persons 
who  vended  liquors  under  pretence  of  being  distillers.  The 
statute  absolutely  prohibited  the  retailing  of  spirits  by 
manufacturers,  and  imposed  increased  penalties  on  unlicensed 
vendors,  an  offender  being  liable  to  a  public  whipping  upon 
a  second  conviction  and  to  transportation  for  seven  years 
upon  a  third  ! 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  23rd  of  February,  a 
plan  was  produced  for  building  a  new  bridge  over  the  Froom 
at  the  head  of  the  Quay,  by  which  a  carriage  road  would  be 
opened  from  the  bottom  of  Small  Street  to  St.  Augustine's 
Back.  The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee,  which, 
after  considering  the  matter  for  nearly  three  years,  reported 
that  the  proposed  bridge  would  prove  an  accommodation  to 
the  citizens.  The  dean  and  chapter  having  some  property 
near  the  spot,  an  application  for  the  sanction  of  that  bodj' 
was  made  in  December,  1753,  and  the  first  response  was  an 
unreserved  assent.  In  February,  17BB,  the  chapter  required, 
however,  that  the  approaches  should  not  be  wider  than 
would  admit  two  carriages  abreast,  and  in  the  following 
year  it  was  mutually  agreed  that  the  road  should  not  exceed 
twenty-five  feet  in  width.  The  bridge,  which  was  completed 
in  175B,  cost  the  Corporation  nearly  £1,826. 

The  death  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  May,  1761,  occa- 
sioned demonstrations  of  regret  which  were  probably  much 
more   noisy   than   sincere.      Amongst   the   items    of    civic 


1751.]  IN   THB    EIGHTB3NTH    CENTURY.  291 

expense  were  "  Gunpowder,  £20  18s.  Paid  John  Simmons 
for  painting  two  royal  escution  and  plumb  of  feathers, 
placed  in  tne  mayor's  chapel,  hauling  and  firing  guns 
£11  10^.  9d." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  in  December,  1761,  on  the 
motion  of  Alderman  Dampier,  it  was  resolved  that  a  hand- 
some state  coach  and  harness,  bearing  only  the  arms  of  the 
city,  should  be  provided  by  the  Corporation  for  the  use  of 
the  mayor  for  tne  time  being,  "  and  that  this  coach  shall 
not  on  any  pretence  whatsoever  be  used  out  of  the  liberty 
of  this  city."  It  was  further  ordered,  on  the  motion  of  the 
same  gentleman,  that  a  handsome  scabbard  of  gilt  plate, 
with  arms  and  devices,  should  be  bought  at  the  expense  of 
the  Chamber,  to  be  used  by  each  mayor  "instead  of  the 
scabbard  which  hath  been  usually  presented  by  the  sheriflRs 
on  New  Year's  Day ; ''  future  sheriffs  undertaking  to  present 
each  mayor  "with  such  piece  or  pieces  of  plate  as  he  himself 
shall  choose,  of  a  value  of  not  less  than  60  guineas,  on  New 
Year's  Day,  as  usual."  It  was  further  resolved  that  the  cost 
of  the  new  scabbard  should  be  repaid  by  future  sheriffs  at 
the  rate  of  five  guineas  yearly.  The  coach  resulting  from 
the  above  resolution  was  a  very  gorgeous  affair,  the  pattern 
bein^  taken  from  the  carriage  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Iiondon ; 
and  it  is  amusing  to  find  that  the  first  payment  (£34  88,) 
was  made  to  Alderman  Dampier  himself,  for  "  42^  yards  of 
crimson  cassoy."  The  manufacture  of  the  vehicle  occupied 
eighteen  months.  The  coachbuilder  was  paid  £139,  the 
carver  £134,  the  brazier  £136,  the  lace-dealer  £77,  the 
painter  £100,  and  the  glass-maker  £22  IOj?.  With  other 
items  for  leather,  smith's  work,  etc.,  the  outlay  was  over 
£700.  The  coach  was  displayed  in  public  for  the  first  time 
in  June,  1763,  on  the  aimiversary  of  the  king's  accession, 
and  excited  much  admiration.  The  vehicle  had  a  brief 
career.  After  only  sixteen  years'  use,  it  was  reported  as 
greatly  out  of  repair,  and  it  was  soon  after  sold  to  Mr. 
William  Weare  for  £63.  The  resolution  in  reference  to  the 
mayor's  scabbard  must  have  been  tacitly  modified,  for  the 
result  was  the  magnificent  sword  still  carried  on  state  occa- 
sions, with  a  blade  nearly  3^  feet  in  length,  and  a  silver 
handle  of  great  size  and  massive  scroll  work.  The  silver 
work  on  the  sword  and  scabbard,  weighing  nearly  202 
ounces,  cost  £176  13*.  3d.,  and  the  velvet,  gold  plate,  and 
other  items,  raised  the  first  outlay  to  £188  Ga,  3d.,  exclusive 
of  £3  3s,  given  to  John  Simmons,  a  painter  of  local  repute, 
for   "  drawing   the   design."     In   17o6   it  required  repairs, 


292  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1751-52. 

costing  £13,  and  the  silversmith,  Nath.  Nangle,  for  "  his 
extraordinary  trouble  and  expenses  about  the  sword,"  was 
paid  £21  more  in  1768. 

An  attempt  to  ascertain  the  population  of  the  city  at  the 
end  of  the  first  half  of  the  century  was  made  by  a  gentleman 
named  John  Browning,  of  Barton  Hill.  Having  forwarded 
his  calculations  to  the  Royal  Society,  they  were  printed  in 
the  Transactions  of  that  body  for  1763  (vol.  x.  p.  379).  Mr. 
Browning  founded  the  statistics  upon  the  number  of  burials 
recorded  in  the  ten  years  ending  1760,  and  also  upon  the 
number  of  houses.  As  the  interments  of  persons  dying  in 
the  out-parishes  of  St.  James  and  St.  PhiUp  took  place  in 
the  city,  the  population  of  those  suburban  districts  was 
necessarily  included.  The  burials  in  the  above  period  were 
stated  to  have  been  17,317 ;  and  as  "  the  latest  and  most 
accurate  observations  demonstrate  that  in  great  cities  a 
26th  part  of  the  people  die  yearly,"  Mr.  Browning  estimated 
the  population  at  43,276.  The  number  of  houses  rated  to 
the  land-tax  at  Michaelmas,  1761,  was  4,866,  to  which  the 
writer  added  1,216  for  small  tenements,  hospitals,  etc.,  and 
1,200  more  for  the  out-parishes,  making  a  total  of  7,282. 
Reckoning  the  average  number  of  inmates  at  six  per  house, 
the  population  was  found  to  be  43,692,  of  whom  about  36,600 
lived  within  the  city,  and  7,200  in  the  suburbs.  The  calcu- 
lations tend  to  confirm  the  accuracy  of  the  statistics  pre- 
served by  Browne  Willis  (p.  194). 

An  account  of  the  local  newspapers  issued  in  the  first  half 
of  the  century  was  given  under  the  year  1702.  It  is  now 
proposed  to  deal  briefly  with  their  successors.  In  March, 
1762,  Samuel  and  Felix  Farley,  sons  and  successors  of  the 
Samuel  Farley  who  started  a  paper  about  1713,  dissolved 
partnership,  and  became  rivals  in  trade,  the  elder  brother 
continuing  to  publish  the  old  Bristol  Journal  in  Castle 
Street,  while  Felix,  on  the  28th  March,  issued  from  Small 
Street  the  first  number  of  a  periodical  bearing  his  own 
name,  which  was  destined  to  live  until  within  living 
memory.  Felix  Farley  assured  advertisers  that  his  new 
Journal  would  extend  further  than  any  other  yet  published 
in  the  city,  while  purchasers  were  advised  to  preserve  their 
copies,  because,  in  addition  to  the  news  of  the  week,  **  we 
purpose  to  render  our  composition  a  kind  of  library  of  arts 
and  sciences."  The  brothers  did  not  long  survive  their 
reparation.  Felixes  death  was  announced  m  his  paper  of 
the  28th  April,  1763,  when  the  public  were  informed  that 
the  business  would  be  continued  by  his  widow  [Elizabeth] 


1752.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTFT    CENTURY.  203 

and  son,  who  alleged  that  their  stock  of  types  consisted  *•'  of 
a  large  and  curious  collection  com  pleated  by  the  most  in- 
genious artists  in  Europe."     Samuel  died  in  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  niece,  Sarah,  who 
soon  after  announced  that  she  would  continue  the  Journal^ 
and  that  to  give  greater  publicity  to  advertisements  they 
would  be  posted  **  in  the  most  public  places  in  the  city,  and 
especially  the  Exchange  and  Tolzey,  in  the  market  place, 
and  on  the  several  city  gates,  and  by  men  who  carry  the 
Journal  into  the  country  by  Monday  (two  days  after  publi- 
cation) to  fix  them  up  in  the  cities  of  Bath  and  Wells,  and 
all  the  market  towns."     Neither  of  the  papers  showed  any 
lack  of  vigour  whilst  conducted  by  ladies.     Elizabeth  pub- 
lished a  letter  in  Felix  Farley's  Journal  of  January  11th, 
1755,  referring  to  the  remarks  of  a  rival  editor,  already  men- 
tioned : — **  Edward  Ward,  originally  a  haberdasher,  and  late 
a  maltster,  distiller,  &c.,  Ac,  at  present  a  bookseller,  printer, 
and  publisher  of  a  virulent  party  paper  " — the  Intelligencer, 
A   little   later  she   twitted   Sarah  Farley  with  publishing 
articles  a  month  old,  and  described  the  editor  of  the  Bristol 
Chronicle  as  unauthentic  and  hasty.     Sarah  was  a  Quaker, 
and  horrified  that  pacific  body  in  1769  by  reproducing  in 
her  paper  Junius's  celebrated  "Letter  to  a  King,"  for  which, 
according   to   the   chapel    minutes,   she    was    severely    re- 
proached, and  took  "the  monition  kindly."     She  continued, 
however,  to  reproduce  Junius^s  invectives  as  they  appeared. 
On  her  death,  in  1774,  the  Journal  was  continued  by  her 
administratrix,  Hester  Farley,  "  a  near  relative."    As  Hester 
was,  in  fact,  a  daughter  of  Felix,  the  chronic  quarrels  of  the 
family  seem  to  have  been  still  unappeased.     In  the  follow- 
ing year,  however,  Hester  disposed  of  the  paper  to  "  Rouths 
and  Company  ;  "  who  in  July,  1777,  gave  it  the  distinctive 
title  of  Sarah  Farley's  Bristol  Journal,     In  the  meantime  a 
new  rival  had  appeared.     Sarah^s  former  foreman  and  clerk, 
annoyed  at  not  being  chosen  as  her  successors,  set  up  Bonner 
and  Middleton's  Bristol  Journal  in  August,   1774,  so   that 
there  were  three  local  papers  of  the  same  name.     The  in- 
convenience of  this  arrangement  was  obvious,  but  it  was 
not  until  about  the  close  of  the  century  that  Sarah  Farley's 
Journal  was  acquired  by  new  proprietors,  who  changed  its 
title,    but    were    unable    to    keep   it  alive.      Bonner  and 
Middleton's  Journal  became  the  Mirror  in  April,  1804,  and 
was  for  some  years  the  most  popular  paper  in  the  city.     The 
Bristol  Chronicle  was  started  by  John  Grabham,  in  Narrow 
Wine  Street,  on   the  5th  January,  1760,  but  had  a  brief 


294  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1752. 

career.  The  Bristol  Gazette  was  begun  in  1767  by  William 
Pine,  an  able  printer,  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
Chronicle,  and  his  paper  was  throughout  the  remainder  of 
the  century  the  organ  of  the  Corporation  and  of  the  Whig 
party.  The  Bristol  Mercury,  "  a  new  and  impartial  weekly 
paper,''  was  started  on  the  1st  March,  1790,  by  Messrs. 
Bulgin  and  Rosser,  of  Broad  Street  and  Wine  Street.  Rosser 
retired  a  few  years  later,  when  Bulgin  became  sole  proprietor. 

The  cruel  sport  of  cock-throwing  was  still  popular  on 
Shrove  Tuesday.  An  order  was  issued  by  the  magistrates 
in  the  spring  of  1762,  requiring  the  parish  constables  to 
apprehend  persons  assembling  for  this  purpose ;  but  as  the 
populace  could  easily  evade  the  threatened  penalties  by 
taking  a  stroll  into  the  suburbs,  the  decree  can  have  had 
little  effect. 

A  remarkable  scene  at  an  execution  of  three  criminals  at 
St.  Michael's  gallows  is  recorded  in  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of 
April  26th,  1762:  "After  the  cart  drove  away,"  says  the 
reporter,  "  the  hangman  very  deservedly  had  his  head  broke 
for  endeavouring  to  pull  off  Mooney's  shoes,  and  a  fellow 
had  like  to  have  been  killed  in  mounting  the  gallows  to  take 
away  the  ropes  that  were  left  after  the  malefactors  were  cut 
down.  A  young  woman  came  fifteen  miles  for  the  sake  of 
the  rope  from  Mooney's  neck,  which  was  given  to  her,  it 
being  oy  many  apprehended  that  the  halter  of  an  executed 
person  will  charm  away  the  ague,  and  perform  many  other 
cures."  (Another  superstition  of  the  time  was  that  children 
suffering  from  wens  could  be  cured  by  having  their  necks 
stroked  nine  times  by  the  hand  of  an  executed  criminal,  and 
little  patients  were  often  brought  to  the  gallows  to  undergo 
this  operation.)  Mooney's  life  was  afterwards  published  in 
pamphlet  form  by  Felix  Farley,  at  the  instance  of  the  local 
Methodists,  who  claimed  him  as  a  convert.  On  his  own 
confession  he  had  led  a  life  of  crime  from  the  age  of  sixteen, 
and  had  fought  with  the  rebels  at  CuUoden  after  deserting 
from  the  army.  As  showing  the  insecurity  of  the  streets  at 
that  period,  it  may  be  added  that  Mooney's  first  victim  in 
Bristol  was  Mr.  Rich,  son  of  an  alderman,  who  was  robbed 
near  his  father's  house  in  Maudlin  Lane.  An  hour  or  two 
later  the  rogue  despoiled  Mr.  Shiercliff,  a  skilful  portrait 
painter,  of  his  watch  and  money  in  Queen  Square.  On  the 
following  day,  accompanied  by  another  thief,  who  suffered 
death  with  him,  he  attacked  Mr.  Wasborough,  of  Pen  Park, 
on  Durdham  Down,  but  that  gentleman  beat  off  his  assail- 
ants after  receiving  a  pistol  bullet  in  his  hat.     Mooney   then 


1752.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  295 

went  alone  to  College  Green,  where  he  robbed  a  gentleman 
of  a  ring  and  some  money.  In  honour  of  his  conversion,  the 
Methodists  buried  the  criminal's  body  with  great  ceremony, 
and  afterwards  attempted  to  hold  services  over  his  grave, 
which  were  suppressed  by  the  magistrates.  This  opportu- 
nity may  be  taken  to  give  a  list  of  the  local  executions  that 
occurred  during  the  second  half  of  the  century.  Mr.  Pryce's 
roll  for  the  period  contains  the  names  of  32  criminals.  The 
number  of  death  punishments  recorded  below  is  61,  of  which 
only  five  were  for  murder.  It  is  probable  that  many  other 
executions  for  suburban  oflFences  occurred  at  Gloucester  and 
Ilchester,  the  newspaper  reports  being  often  defective. 


1752. 


„      „    W.  Gudmore — return  from  transportation. 


1758.    May  7,  W.  Critchetf)  „„„^.„«.i  n^imo 
„    ,/  Eich.  Arnold  j  ^««atural  crime. 

1754.  Sept,  27,  Thos.  Larey — highway  robbery. 

„    „    Eliz.  Hind — highway  robbery. 

1755.  Aug.  18,  Oath.  Gardner — child  murder. 
Oct.  3,  Wm.  Williams — forgery. 

1758.    Mar.  10  (at  Gloucester),  Thos.  Boberts— murder,  Cutler's  Mills. 

Aug.  24,  John  Hobbs — murder. 

Sept.  8,  John  Price — stealing  ribbon. 
„      „    Wm.  Saunders — stealing  cloth. 
1761.    June  i,  Wm.  D.  Sheppard — unnatural  crime. 

Oct.  22,  Pat.  Ward  (gibbeted)— murder. 

Nov.  6,  John  Cope — return  from  transportation. 

1768.  June  24,  James  Rendall — burglary. 
1764.    April  16,  Wm.  Dawson — robbery. 

May  14,  Thos.  Usher— robbery  of  £1800. 

Aug.  24  (Gloucester),  John  Jordan — robbery  on  the  Down. 

17^.    Apr.  12  («;-\^-0;^-j  burglary,  Dordban.  Down. 

1769.  June  9,  Bobt.  Slack— horse  stealing. 

1771.  Dec.  10,  John  Faulker,  soldier,  shot  on  Brandon  hill — desertion. 

1772,  May  15,  Jonathan  Britain — forgery. 

1774.  Apr.  22,  Isaac  Barrett — street  robbery. 

1775.  Sept.  22,  Dan.  Hay nes— housebreaking. 

1776.  Apr.  19  (Glouc),  John  Gilbert— burglary  at  Clifton. 
Sept.  16  (Ilchester),  John  Stock — robbery,  Bedminster. 

1//8.    May  15,  Thos.  Crewys — forgery. 
1781.    Oct.  12,  Benj.  Loveday")  „«««4.„^i  «^'^^ 
.,     „    John  Burke     j  "^natural  crime. 

1788.    Mar.  31,  Jenkin  Prothero  (gibbeted)— murder. 

Apr.  16  (Ilchester),  Jos.  Elkins — coining,  Bedminster. 
May  23,  Wm.  Morley — forgery. 

.,      ,,    Wm.  Shutler — housebreaking. 
Sept.  6  (Bedminster),  Geo.  Gaines  (17)---stealing  linen. 

1784.  Apr.  8  (Totterdowxi),  Rich.  Handall— highway  robbery. 
Sept.  1  (Ilchester),  Thos.  Phillips — robbery,  Totterdown. 

1785.  Apr.  8,  John  Collins — murder. 

Aug.  10  (Ilcb^ter),  Wm^one,  j  „,^,^_  K_, 

1786.  Oct.  6,  Ambrose  Cook — highway  robbery. 


296  THE   ANNALS   OP    BRISTOL  [1752. 

1788.    Apr.  16  (Glouc),  Thos.  Fox      ")  u^rffi^.-, 

„       „        „         Chas.  Frost    C  oSffi^U, 

1790.    May  7,  Edw.  Macnamara — forgery. 
July  9,  Wm.  Hungerford — robbery. 

1792.  Apr.  14  (Qlouc.),^Chns^H^Wort  |  „,^,j^^  j,^^^^  i^„„. 

1793.  Apr.  10  (Ilchester),  Jen  kin  Jones — robbery,  Bedminster. 
May  3,  Bobt.  Hamilton — robbery. 

1795.    Apr.  24,  Benj.  Smith — forgery. 

1798.  Aug.  11  (Glou.),  John  Roberts    ^ 

„      „         „        John  Hawkins  >  robbery,  St.  George's. 
„      „         „        Benj.  GuUiok    ) 

1799.  Apr.  26,  James  Baber     "l 

„      „    Charles  Powell  j  forgery. 
„      „    JohnDuggan  J 

1800.  Apr.  25,  Rich.  Haynes — shooting  at  a  constable. 

An  attempt  was  made  about  this  time  by  a  joint  stock 
company  of  local  merchants  to  establish  a  new  branch  of 
commerce — the  whale  fishery.  The  concern  was  divided 
into  99  shares,  the  whole  of  which  were  apparently  taken 
up  Felijo  Farley's  Journal  of  July  18th,  1762,  stated  that  the 
Bristol  and  Adventure,  two  ships  fitted  out  by  the  company, 
had  just  arrived,  "  having  had  the  good  fortune  to  catch  five 
whales,  and  'tis  said  they  are  valued  at  £2000,  which  with 
the  bounty  money  of  40*.  per  ton,  make  their  voyage  a  very 
successful  one.*'  The  odoriferous  cargo  was  landed  at  Sea 
Mills  dock.  The  enterprise  was  continued  for  some  years 
with  varying  results  ;  and  a  third  ship,  the  St.  Andrew, 
was  sent  out  in  1766  and  1766,  perhaps  by  the  same  adven- 
turers. Some  difficulty  was  found  in  securing  crews,  and 
an  advertisement  in  March,  1757,  assured  sailors  that  **  a 
Greenland  voyage  is  found  by  experience  to  be  the  healthiest 
in  the  world,"  and  that  out  of  over  ninety  men  engaged  in 
the  Bristol  and  Adventure,  only  one  had  died  a  natural 
death,  and  two  been  killed,  in  six  successive  voyages.  The 
announcement  did  not  add  that  the  Adventure  in  the  pre- 
vious year  had  been  frozen  in  the  ice  for  upwards  of  ten 
weeks.  Some  unsuccfssful  voyages  followed,  and  the 
Bristol  Journal  of  March  22nd,  1761,  contained  a  notification 
that  the  Whale  Fishery  Company  had  dissolved.  Never- 
theless, in  January,  1766,  the  same  paper  published  a  report 
that  several  eminent  local  merchants  were  then  "  soliciting 
the  grant  of  an  island  in  the  Gulph  of  Lawrence,  which 
they  propose  to  settle  at  their  own  expense,  it  having  on  a 
late  survey  been  found  extremely  commodious  for  carrying 
on  a  Whale  Fishery  in  those  seas.''  The  application  appears 
to  have  been  unsuccessful. 


1752.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  297 

A  corporate  notice  in  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  July  18th, 
1762,  forbids  any  person  to  buy  or  sell  leather  in  any 
tanner's  yard  or  shop  in  Bristol,"  or  within  ten  miles  round," 
on  penalty  of  the  forfeiture  of  the  goods.  Leather  was  to 
be  sold  only  at  the  fair,  or  at  the  leather  market  in  the 
Back  Hall — an  extensive  building,  from  which  a  large  rental 
was  received  by  the  civic  body.  The  above  regulation  was 
certainly  illegal,  and  could  be  safely  set  at  defiance  by  the 
population  outside  the  city  boundaries. 

Cricket  had  few  local  votaries  in  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  It  is  never  mentioned  in  the  news- 
papers except  as  offering,  like  pugilism,  racing,  and  cock- 
fighting,  an  opportunity  for  gambling.  A  London  journal 
of  1729  notified  that  a  cricket  match  would  take  place  on 
the  town  ham  at  Gloucester  on  the  22nd  September  "  for 
upwards  of  20  guineas,''  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
players  were  imported  for  the  purpose.  Felix  Farley^ s 
Journal  of  August  29th,  1762,  contains  the  following  adver- 
tisement :  "  On  Monday  next  will  be  played  a  match  of 
cricket  between  eleven  men  of  London  and  eleven  men  of 
Bristol,  on  Durdham  Down,  for  the  sum  of  20  guineas." 
The  result  is  not  recorded.  The  following  still  more  signi- 
ficant paragraph  occurs  in  the  Gloucester  Journal  of  May  29th, 
1769 : — "  We  near  from  Cirencester  that  the  young  gentle- 
men of  that  place  are  introducing  the  manly  exercise  of 
cricket  into  tnis  county,  where  it  has  been  hitherto  un- 
known." The  writer  adds  that  some  matches  had  been 
already  played  for  ^^considerable  sums."  It  may  be  in- 
teresting to  add  that  many  early  cricket  matches  mentioned 
in  the  London  newspapers  were  played  by  five  men  on  each 
side. 

The  great  success  of  the  first  Bristol  bank  naturally  led 
to  the  establishment  of  a  second  local  institution.  Felix 
Farley's  Journal  of  September  16th  says  : — "  We  hear  that  a 
Bank  is  now  opened  in  Com  Street  by  Thomas  Goldney, 
Morgan  Smith,  Michael  Miller,  Richard  Champion,  James 
Reed,  and  John  Vaughan."  Mr.  Miller  was  the  wealthy 
merchant  whom  Hume  exasperated  by  criticising  his  un- 
grammatical  epistles.  Though  Vaughan's  name  stood  last 
in  the  roll  of  proprietors,  the  business  of  the  concern  was 
chiefly  derived  from  the  old  and  extensive  financial  connec- 
tion formed  by  his  father  as  a  private  banker ;  and  he  was 
for  some  years  the  managing  partner  of  the  firm.  The 
names  of  Goldney  and  Champion  soon  disappeared.  In 
1789  the  proprietors  consisted  of  Messrs.  Vaughan,  Baker^ 


298  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1752. 

Smith,  Hale,  and  Davis  ;  but  previous  to  July,  1794,  impor- 
tant changes  had  taken  place,  the  firm  then  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Philip  Miles,  Bichard  Vaughan,  Jeremy  Baker, 
Philip  John  Miles,  Benjamin  Baugh,  and  Samuel  New. 
"  Miles's  Bank,"  as  it  was  popularly  called,  had  a  lengthy 
and  prosperous  career. 

The  Act  for  the  reformation  of  the  Calendar  came  into 
force  in  1 762,  when  the  legal  supputation  by  which  the  year 
began  on  the  25th  March  was  abolished,  and  the  common 
mode  of  reckoning  from  the  1st  of  January  was  universally 
established.  This  alteration  was  generally  popular,  but  it 
was  far  otherwise  with  the  next  clause  of  the  Act,  by  which 
the  day  following  the  2nd  September,  1762,  was  ordered  to 
be  called  the  14th  September,  the  eleven  intermediate 
nominal  days  being  omitted  from  the  almanacs.  The 
arrangement  caused  much  temporary  inconvenience  to 
traders,  farmers,  and  others  accustomed  to  settlements  at 
stated  periods ;  out  it  was  especially  obnoxious  to  the  un- 
educated classes,  who  held  certain  fixed  festivals  in  special 
veneration,  who  could  not  understand  why  they  should  be 
deprived  of  nearly  half  a  month,  and  who,  many  of  them, 
l)elieved  that  their  lives  would  be  shortened  to  a  corre- 
sponding extent.  As  is  shown  by  a  well  known  picture  of 
Hogarth's,  the  popular  demand  for  the  restoration  of  "  our 
eleven  days"  became  an  election  ciy  in  1764.  In  the 
meantime  the  opponents  of  the  law  sulkily  submitted  to  it 
until  Christmas  gave  them  an  opportunity  for  a  manifesta- 
tion. Fdix  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  January  6th,  1763,  says : — 
**  Yesterday  being  Old  Christmas  Day,  the  same  was  obsti- 
nately observed  by  our  country  people  in  general,  so  that 
(being  market  day  according  to  the  order  of  our  magistrates) 
there  were  but  few  at  market,  who  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity of  raising  their  butter  to  9d.  or  lOd.  per  pound  " — 
about  double  the  ordinary  price.  In  some  market  towns 
the  farmers  were  wholly  absent ;  and  to  gratify  the  feelings 
of  their  parishioners,  many  rural  clergymen  preached 
'*  Nativity  sermons  "  on  the  following  Sunday.  The  flower- 
ing of  the  celebrated  Glastonbury  thorn  was  looked  for  with 
much  anxiety.  The  first  intelligence  of  its  deportment  gave 
satisfaction,  the  above  newspaper  affirming  that  the  holy 
plant,  after  having  contemptuously  ignored  the  new  style, 
burst  into  blossom  on  the  5th  January,  thus  indicating  that 
Old  Christmas  Day  should  alone  be  observed,  in  spite  of  an 
irreligious  legislature.  This  story,  strange  to  say,  was 
printed  at  Hull  for  the  use  of  the  **  flying  stationers  "  who 


1752.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CBNTURT.  299 

then  traversed  the  country,  and  produced  an  immense  eflPect 
in  the  rural  districts.  Eventually  some  one  thought  it  worth 
while  to  write  to  the  vicar  of  Glastonbury,  and  the  empti- 
ness of  the  report  was  at  once  made  known,  the  reverend 
gentleman  declaring  that  the  thorn  "  blossomed  the  fullest 
and  finest  about  Christmas  Day,  new  style,  or  rather  sooner." 
As  farmers  and  labourers  were  not  newspaper  readers,  how- 
ever, their  faith  in  the  fable  was  transmitted  to  their  de- 
scendants. Mr.  Humphrey,  in  his  "  History  of  Wellington," 
published  in  1889,  states  that  many  of  the  labouring  classes 
m  that  neighbourhood  still  strictly  observe  Old  Christmas 
Day,  believing  that  it  would  be  wicked  to  work  on  the 
ancient  festival. 

The  error  committed  at  this  time  by  the  local  societies  in 
fixing  upon  a  day  for  commemorating  Colston's  birth  has 
been  noticed  at  page  1B4.  The  "  Loyal  *'  (Tory)  Society  as- 
sembled on  the  morning  of  the  13th  November,  and  went 
in  **  grand  "  procession  to  the  Cathedral,  where  they  heard 
an  appropriate  sermon.  Thence,  says  the  Journal^  they 
marched  to  St.  Mary  RedcliflF,  where  another  sermon  was 
preached  "  to  a  prodigious  audience  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sawier" 
(Seyer,  father  of  the  historian).  The  duplicate  religious 
service  was  repeated  in  1763,  when  the  Journal  stated  that 
about  600  citizens  were  present  at  the  dinners  of  the  various 
Colston  societies. 

In  November,  1762,  the  Merchants'  Society  unanimously 
resolved  to  address  the  members  of  Parliament  for  the  city, 
requesting  their  aid  in  procuring  the  repeal  of  an  Act  passed 
during  the  previous  session  permitting  English-born  Jews  ^ 
to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  British  citizens.  Similar  repre- 
sentations were  made  by  public  bodies  in  other  towns,  and 
the  statute  aroused  a  storm  of  indignation  throughout  the 
country.  A  general  election  was  approaching,  and  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  trembling  for  his  majority,  charac- 
teristically retreated  in  a  panic.  A  Government  Bill  was 
introduced  at  the  earliest  moment  to  repeal  the  Ministerial 
measure  of  the  previous  year,  and  Mr.  Nugent,  soon  to  be- 
come member  for  Bristol,  was  deputed  to  pilot  it  through 
the  Commons.  Nugent  cynically  admitted  that  he  believed 
the  Naturalisation  Act  to  be  a  wise  and  just  measure,  and 
that  he  was  acting  against  his  conviction  in  proposing  its 
repeal.  His  excuse  was  that  "  the  passions  of  the  lower  sort 
of  people  ought  to  be  humoured  ;  for  such  people,  like  chil- 
dren, sometimes  take  a  fancy  to  a  hobbv  horse,  without 
whieh  there  is  no  keeping  them  quiet."    in  the  provinces, 


300  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1752-53. 

he  added,  he  was  charged  with  being  the  author  of  the  New 
Style  Act  as  well  as  of  the  Jews  Act ;  and  an.  old  woman 
had  been  heard  to  remark,  that  **It  wfiis  no  wonder  he 
should  be  for  naturalising  the  devil,  since  he  was  one  of 
those  who  banished  Old  Christmas."  The  political  oppo- 
nents of  the  Whigs  having  resisted  Jewish  emancipation 
from  the  outset,  the  Bill  passed  through  both  Houses  with 
almost  perfect  unanimity. 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  the  fatal  prevalence 
of  gin  drinking.  From  a  curious  correspondence  between 
Dr.  Tucker  and  Lord  Townshend  in  1762,  disinterred  by  the 
Historical  Manuscripts  Commission  (11th  Report,  part  iv.), 
it  appears  that  merchants  engaged  in  the  slave  trade  found 
it  profitable  to  spread  a  taste  for  the  liquor  on  the  African 
coast.  Large  supplies  were  bartered  in  exchange  for  human 
beings,  and  Tucker  states,  on  the  authority  of  "  an  eminent 
merchant  of  this  place  (Bristol),  that  he  can  get  any  quan- 
tity from  Worcester  to  be  delivered  here  at  from  14d.  to  16rf. 
per  gallon,  the  duty  being  drawn  back.'' 

An  account,  in  the  local  newspapers,  of  a  robbery  com- 
mitted in  the  house  of  a  fashionaole  silversmith,  living  in 
Orchard  Street,  in  January,  1763,  depicts  the  style  of  dress 
then  worn  by  the  upper  class  of  citizens.  Amongst  the 
property  stolen  were  the  following  articles : — "A  new  Maza- 
reen  blue  coat,  lined  with  white  ;  a  silk  camblet  coat,  lined 
with  green  silk;  a  Mazareen  blue  silk  waistcoat,  embroidered 
with  gold  ;  and  a  pair  of  silk  breeches  with  gold  button 
holes  and  buttons."  Adding  a  large  powdered  wig,  a 
cocked  hat  laced  with  gold,  lace  sleeve  rufHes,  silk  stock- 
ings, shoes  ornamented  with  gold  buckles,  and  a  scarlet 
cloak — all  indispensable  articles  at  that  period — with  a 
small  muff  carried  during  winter,  we  have  the  complete 
habiliments  of  the  despoiled  tradesman.  The  clergy,  who 
also  wore  three-cornered  hats  and  cauliflower  wigs,  with 
winter  muffs,  perambulated  the  streets  in  their  cassocks,  a 
practice  which  did  not  wholly  expire  until  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century. 

The  magnates  of  the  Corporation,  although  standing  much 
on  their  dignity,  occasionally  condescended  to  patronise  the 
entertainments  offered  to  the  dull  citv  by  roving  showmen. 
On  the  29th  January,  "  the  famous  fire-eater,  Mr.  Powell," 
was  requested  to  display  his  skill  at  the  Council  House,  be- 
fore the  mayor,  aldermen,  councillors,  "  and  other  persons 
of  distinction,''  which  probably  meant  the  ex-mayoresses  and 
other  worshipful  females.     Mr.  Powell's  advertisements  in- 


1753.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  301 

formed  the  world  that  "  He  eats  red-hot  coals  out  of  the  fire 
as  natural  as  bread  ;  he  fills  his  mouth  with  red-hot  charcoal, 
and  broils  a  slice  of  beef  upon  his  tongue,  and  any  person 
may  blow  the  fire  with  a  pair  of  bellows  ;  he  melts  a  quan- 
tity of  resin,  bees-wax,  sealing  wax,  brimstone,  and  lead  in 
a  chafing  dish,  and  eats  the  said  combustibles  with  a  spoon." 
The  performance  was  rewarded  by  the  pitiful  payment  of 
2Lv.  out  of  the  corporate  funds  ;  but  the  poor  conjurer  may 
have  been  satisfied,  for,  unless  he  obtained  the  mayor's  leave, 
he  was  liable  to  six  months'  imprisonment  as  a  rogue  and 
vagabond  if  he  exhibited  his  tricks  to  the  public.  A  few 
days  later,  the  corporate  dignitaries  enjoyed  another  little 
relaxation,  dimly  indicated  as  follows  in  the  civic  accounts :  — 
"  James  Kington,  showing  a  machine  for  cut  heads,  &c.  to 
Mr.  Mayor  and  the  Aldermen,  £1  Is."  The  instrument  was 
probably  for  engraving  seals  or  cameos. 

Fdix  Farley^ s  Journal  of  February  10th,  1753,  contains 
details  of  a  horrible  tragedy  arising  out  of  the  slave  trade. 
It  appears  that  the  captain  of  the  Bristol  ship  Marlborough, 
while  on  a  voyage  from  Africa  to  the  plantations  **  indulged 
28  Gold  Coast  negroes  with  their  liberty  on  deck,  for  the 
sake  of  their  assistance  in  managing  the  ship" — in  other 
words,  they  were  compelled  to  conduct  themselves  into  bond- 
age. But  three  days  afler  the  vessel  left  Bonny,  whilst  the 
sailors  were  between  decks,  engaged  in  washing  the  filth 
from  about  400  slaves  chained  down  to  the  planks,  the  above 
negroes  seized  firearms  from  the  captain  and  watch,  whom 
they  shot,  and  spent  the  day  in  butchering  the  white  crew, 
numbering  thirty-five.  The  boatswain  and  about  seven 
others  were  spared  on  their  undertaking  to  navigate  the  ship 
back  to  Bonny,  which  was  done,  an  attempt  of  the  Bristol 
slaver  Hawk  to  recapture  the  vessel  being  defeated  by  the 
determined  firing  of  the  negroes.  About  270  of  the  slaves 
had  been  shipped  at  Bonny,  and  were  to  have  been  landed 
there,  but  a  furious  quarrel  arose  between  them  and  the 
Gold  Coast  blacks,  and  in  the  fight  which  ensued  about  a 
hundred  were  thrown  overboard  or  killed.  After  disembark- 
ing the  survivors,  the  Gold  Coast  men,  numbering  about 
160,  stood  off,  retaining  six  English  sailors  to  navigate 
them  to  their  homes.  The  fate  of  the  Marlborough  is  not 
recorded. 

Gardens  were  still  common  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  An 
advertisement  in  a  local  paper  of  the  24th  February  states 
that  a  house,  garden,  and  summer-house,  in  Tower  Lane, 
lately  occupied  by  an  attorney  at  a  rent  of  j69,  were  to  be 


i 


302  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1753. 

let.     In  the  following  week  was  a  similar  announcement  re- 
specting two  houses  in  Milk  Street,  with  "  large  gardens." 

The  law  forbidding  the  dressing  of  dead  bodies  in  linen 
was  still  enforced  by  the  magistrates.  In  March,  Mr. 
Christopher  Willoughby,  merchant,  was  convicted  of  vio- 
lating tne  Act,  and  was  mulcted  in  the  penalty  of  i;6. 

Marmaduke  Bowdler  (sheriflF,  1693),  who  had  withdrawn 
from  the  Council  owing  to  mercantile  disasters  some  years 
before  this  date,  and  was  then  appointed  clerk  of  the 
markets,  was  in  March,  1753,  granted  a  pension  of  £30  on 
account  of  his  age  and  indigence.  At  the  same  meeting 
Elizabeth  Dobbins,  granddaughter  of  Samuel  Wallis  (mayor, 
1696),  and  great  granddaughter  of  Ezekiel  Wallis  (mayor, 
1638),  was  voted  an  annuity  of  £4  for  life. 

An  urgent  complaint  was  made  to  the  House  of  Commons 
during  this  session  by  local  sugar  refiners  respecting  the 
conduct  of  the  sugar  planters  in  Jamaica,  who,  it  was  alleged, 
so  greatly  restricted  the  culture  of  canes  that  sugar  sold  in 
England  at  3bs,  to  40^.  per  cwt.,  while  in  France  and  Holland 
the  price  was  only  Ids,  A  pamphleteer,  advocating  the  views 
of  the  petitioners,  gives  an  interesting  estimate  of  the  extent 
of  the  English  refining  trade.  **  It  is  the  general  opinion," 
he  says,  '*  that  there  are  about  eighty  refining  houses  in  and 
about  London,  and  twenty  at  least  at  Bristol ;  there  are  like- 
wise refining  houses  at  Chester,  Liverpool,  Lancaster,  White- 
haven, Newcastle,  Hull,  and  Southampton,  and  some  in 
Scotland.  I  think  there  can  be  hardly  fewer  than  120  in 
all."  He  estimates  that  each  refinery  employed  nine  men 
permanently.     The  petitions  were  without  effect. 

The  local  press  reported  on  the  6th  May  that  two  young 
ladies  had  just  been  robbed  by  a  highwayman  whilst  walk- 
ing in  the  fields  near  the  city,  and  that  the  thief  had  stripped 
them  of  3B«.  and  two  silver  snuff-boxes.  Snuffing  was  then 
a  practice  common  to  all  ranks  of  society,  and  had  many 
ardent  votaries  amongst  the  fair  sex.  Defoe,  in  whose  time 
fashionable  snuffs  sold  at  from  &?.  to  32«.  per  pound,  re- 
marked in  one  of  his  essays  that  his  servant-maid  took  her 
snuff  with  the  airs  of  a  duchess.  From  the  accounts  of  the 
Gore  family  at  Bourton,  already  referred  to,  it  appears  that 
at  least  a  pound  of  snuff  weekly  was  consumed  on  an  average 
in  that  gentleman's  family.  The  manufacture  of  the  article 
rose  to  considerable  local  importance,  and  about  this  time 
many  of  the  corn  mills  in  the  suburbs  were  converted  into 
snuff  mills.  The  business  must  have  extended  rapidly,  for 
at  the  Christmas  quarter  sessions  in  1756  the  grand  jury 


1753.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  303 

represented  to  the  justices  that  "  the  converting  of  any  grist 
mills  belonging  to  this  city  to  any  other  purpose  than  that 
of  grinding  corn  may  become  very  detrimental  to  the 
publick,"  and  expressed  pleasure  that  the  aldermen  had 
been  animated  by  the  same  sentiment  in  giving  "  notice  to 
the  tenant  of  the  only  mill  belonging  to  the  Corporation 
speedily  to  quit  the  same."  The  mill  in  question  was  the 
City  Mill,  St.  James's  Back,  which  was  shortly  afterwards 
advertised  to  be  let  for  the  grinding  of  com  only.  The  pre- 
vious occupiers,  Messrs.  Weare,  who  were  turned  out  in  a 
very  arbitrary  manner,  asked  for  compensation,  but  it  was 
not  until  twenty  years  later  that  they  were  voted  £2CX). 
Other  snufF  mills  mentioned  about  the  same  period  were 
known  as  Territt's,  Lock's,  Clifton  (site  of  the  Ooservatory), 
Combe  Dingle,  Barrow,  Frenchay,  and  one  or  two  others  on 
the  Froom.  In  1764  William  Hulme,  a  Scotch-snufF  maker 
in  Maryleport  Street,  leased  a  windmill  at  Cotham,  and 
transformed  it  into  a  snufF  manufactory.  When  he  became 
bankrupt  three  years  later,  the  place  was  advertised  for  sale, 
*'  having  eleven  mills  erected  for  that  purpose."  The  stone- 
work of  this  mill  forms  the  foundation  of  the  lofty  tower  now 
standing  in  Cotham  Park.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  sign  over  Hulme's  shop  was  a  parrot.  At  all  events 
Parrot  snuff,  which  had  a  great  reputation,  was  long  sold  in 
Maryleport  Street  by  Messrs.  Ricketts,  the  predecessors  of 
Messrs.  W.  and  H.  0.  Wills,  and  the  latter  firm  still  possess 
the  grotesque  wooden  bird  that  formerly  decorated  the  pre- 
mises. 

Owing  to  a  deficient  harvest  in  the  preceding  year,  and  a 
destructive  cattle  plague,  which  swept  away  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  herds  of  the  district,  the  poor  were  plunged  in 
great  distress  in  the  spring  of  1763.  In  May,  the  intelli- 
gence that  a  quantity  of  wheat  was  about  to  be  exported 
from  Bristol  excited  the  Kingswood  colliers  to  open  violence. 
On  Monday,  the  21st  May,  many  hundred  miners  and 
labourers  entered  the  city  at  Lawford's  Gate,  and  made  their 
way  to  the  Council  House,  where  they  represented  their 
misery  to  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  and  urged  that  exporta- 
tion should  be  stopped.  The  authorities  promised  such  relief 
as  was  in  their  power,  especially  a  reduction  in  the  price  of 
bread  ;  and  many  of  the  colliers  expressed  themselves  satis- 
fied. Some  of  the  more  violent,  however,  proceeded  to  the 
quay  to  plunder  a  ship  bound  for  Dublin,  laden  with  com ; 
but  being  charged  by  the  constables  armed  with  staves,  they 
dispersed  after  a  brief  struggle,  a  few  being  wounded  and 


30 !•  THE    ANNALS   OF   BEUSTOL  [1753. 

others  made  prisoners.     The  news  of  this  scuffle  caused  the 
rest  of  the  colliers  to  take  part  with  the  rioters,  and  the  con- 
stables, encountered  in  Small  Street  with  their  captives, 
having  found  it  prudent  to  decamp,  the  victorious  rabble 
smashed  the  windows  of  the  Council  House,  wounded  several 
parsons   with   missiles,   and    eventually   went  off,   vowing 
further  vengeance.     The  outlook  being  serious,  the  militia 
was  raised,  a  number  of  citizens  were  enrolled  as  special  con- 
stables, and  the  inhabitants  were  directed  to  supply  them- 
selves with  arms  and  ammunition.      On  the  24th  a  mob 
again   appeared  outside  Lawford's  Gate,  but  was  attacked 
and  dispersed  without  difficulty.     Next  day,  however,  the 
colliers,  joined  by  a  horde  of  weavers  and  disorderly  ruffians 
living  "  outside  the  Gate,"  and  numbering  altogether  about 
900,  entered  the  city  by  way  of  Milk  Street,  and  advanced 
to  Bridewell,  where  one  of  Monday's  rioters  was  detained. 
The  gates  o^  the  prison  were  attacked,  and  although  one  of 
the  assailants  was  shot  dead  by  a  warder,  the  defences  were 
speedily  breached,  the  prison  rifled,  and  the  captive  rescued. 
But  before  the  rioters  left,  a  small  party  of  dragoons  (sent 
from  Gloucester  by  the  Government)  reached  the  place,  and 
fired  upon  them,  occasioning  a  general  rout.     The  fugitives, 
scattered  in  small  parties,  were  followed  up  by  the  special 
constables,  and   numberless    petty  conflicts  took   place,  in 
which  the  partisans  of  order  were  not  always  successful,  for 
the  colliers  carried  off  five  or  six  gentlemen  as  prisoners. 
Three  of  these,  Messrs.  Brickdale,  Knox,  and  Miller,  were 
recaptured  near  Lawford's  Gate,  but  the  others  were  im- 
prisoned in  a  coalpit  for  several  days,  and  with  difficulty 
released.     In  the  various  encounters,  four  colliers  were  shot 
dead,  upwards  of  fifty  wounded,  and   between  thirty  and 
forty  made  prisoners.     (Owing  to  the  extreme  destitution  of 
the  sufferers  who  reached  their  homes,  food  and  surgical  aid 
were  sent  out  of  the  city  for  their  relief.)     A  quantity  of 
correspondence  relating  to  this  affair  is  in  the  State  Paper 
Office  and  the  British  Museum.     Amongst  the  facts  reported 
by  the  mayor  to  the  Government  it  was  stated  that,  even 
after  the  punishment  they  had  received,  the  miners  threat- 
ened "  to  return  with  armed  force  into  the  city,"  and  that 
"  from  the  height  to  which  the  tumult  has  grown,  and  the 
inclination  of  the   lower  sort  of  citizens  to  join  with   the 
colliers,  the  task  of  repression  may  prove  beyond  our  force." 
The  advance  of  troops  from  Worcester  and  other  towns  had  a 
reassuring   effect,    but   the   colliers   continued    to   threaten 
vengeance,  and  roved  about  the  country  endeavouring  to 


1753.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  305 

raise  a  revolt  among  the  country  labourers.  They  were 
especially  exasperated  against  Mr.  Brickdale,  who  found  it 
prudent  to  depart  for  London.  Anticipating  his  return, 
every  coach  was  stopped  and  searched  on  its  way  from  the 
capital,  but  the  unlucky  gentleman  reached  home  under  the 
protection  of  a  large  escort  of  Bristolians,  who  guarded  his 
carriage  for  the  last  twenty  miles.  He  was  not  safe  even  in 
the  city.  Edward  West,  one  of  the  county  coroners  (whom 
Brickdale  describes  to  the  Premier  as  a  man  of  very  bad 
character),  held  an  inquest  in  or  near  St.  George's,  on  the 
body  of  a  rioter  who  had  died  from  his  wounds,  and  a 
verdict  of  wilful  murder  having  been  returned  against  John 
Brickdale,  woollen-draper,  Michael  Miller,  jeweller,  and 
others,  warrants  were  issued  for  their  arrest.  A  few  days 
later,  Brickdale  informed  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  that  West 
had  held  two  more  inquests — presumably  on  additional 
victims — with  similar  results.  The  Government  put  a  stop 
to  those  proceedings  by  getting  the  verdicts  quashed  in  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  by  granting  a  general  pardon 
to  Brickdale  and  his  companions.  A  special  commission 
was  also  issued  for  the  trial  of  the  rioters.  Indictments  of 
high  treason  were  preferred  against  two  ringleaders,  but 
they  eluded  apprehension.  Eight  of  the  prisoners  were  con- 
demned to  two  years'  imprisonment.  Many  others  were 
discharged  owing  to  the  non-appearance  of  witnesses  that 
could  have  given  evidence  against  them.  The  affair  was 
costly  to  the  Corporation.  The  expense  of  maintaining 
fifty  special  constables  for  ten  days  reached  £268  17s.  6d. 
The  sum  of  £7  ISs,  8d.  was  laid  out  in  "  repairing  con- 
stables' staves  of  St.  Nicholas's  ward  which  were  broken  in 
defence  of  this  city  ;  "  and  new  staves  for  St.  Stephen's 
parish  cost  £8  16s.  Gel.  more.  The  expenses  of  entertaining 
the  judges  and  recorder  in  September  amounted  to  nearly 
£300.  [One  of  the  constables'  staves  broken  during  this 
riot,  and  thrown  into  the  Froom,  was  recovered  in  1888. 
The  head  is  of  brass,  engraved  with  the  royal  arms  and 
those  of  Bristol,  and  bearing  the  inscription,  **  St.  Stephen's, 
1748."] 

The  corporate  accounts  for  September  contain  the  follow- 
ing unintelligible  item: — **Paid  for  making  the  scarlet 
cloth,  and  for  the  gold  fringe  thereto,  for  Mr.  Mayor's  use 
when  he  goes  to  church,  £11  6j?."  Another  entry  of  the 
same  date  reads : — "  Paid  the  Chamber's  contribution  to- 
wards the  charges  of  passing  an  Act  of  Parliament  for 
enlarging  and  regulating  the  trade  into  the  Levant  seas, 

X 


\ 


306  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1753. 

£105."  The  Act  in  question  abolished  the  monopoly  of  the 
Levant  trade  enjoyed  by  the  Turkey  Company,  of  London  ; 
but  Bristol  merchants  took  little  advantage  of  the  new 
opening  for  commerce. 

The  ravages  of  the  cattle  plague  having  caused  a  great 
advance  in  the  price  of  meat,  attempts  were  made  by  adven- 
turous people  to  smuggle  in  L"ish  beef — then  a  prohibited 
article — and  large  profits  were  made  when  the  "  run  "  was 
successful.  In  October  the  Custom  House  oflRcers  seized 
108  barrels  of  this  meat,  which  was  sold  for  exportation,  and 
£66  17,v.,  half  the  proceeds,  were  distributed  amongst  the  poor 
of  St.  Stephen *s,  the  parish  in  which  the  capture  was  made. 
In  December  there  was  a  further  extensive  seizure  of  Irish 
beef,  etc.,  and  three  more  discoveries  of  smuggled  provisions 
took  place  in  1764,  a  moiety  of  the  value  in  each  case  being 
paid  to  St.  Stephen's  parish. 

A  puritanic  observance  of  Sunday  was  still  enforced  by 
the  magistracy.  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  October  20th 
recorded  that  on  the  previous  Monday  two  barbers  were 
placed  in  the  stocks  in  Temple  Street  for  having  shaved 
some  customers  on  the  preceding  day.  A  fortnight  later  two 
other  unhappy  tonsors  sat  in  the  stocks  on  the  Back  for  the 
same  offence. 

Christ  Church,  Broad  Street,  was  re-opened  on  the  18th 
November,  after  having  been  closed  upwards  of  two  years 
for  repairs.  The  restoration,  which  cost  £1,500,  did  not 
succeed  in  preserving  the  old  edifice. 

On  the  26th  November,  George  Whitefield,  who  was  then 
as  popular  in  the  fashionable  world  as  amongst  the  poor, 
opened  a  chapel  in  Bristol  for  the  accommodation  of  his 
fc  Uowers.  His  "  Society  "  had  previously  worshipped  in  the 
Smiths'  Hall,  near  Merchant  Street.  The  new  chapel,  like 
its  founder's  great  building  in  London,  was  called  the 
Tabernacle.  It  was,  Whitefield  recorded,  "  large,  but  not 
large  enough  ;  would  the  place  contain  them,  I  believe  near 
as  many  would  attend  as  in  London."  The  Earl  of  Chester- 
field, the  only  too-celebrated  letter  writer,  contributed  £20 
to  the  building  fund,  but  requested  that  his  name  should  not 
be  published.  From  an  account  book  of  the  chapel,  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Wills,  it  appears  that  the  congrega- 
tion provided  board  and  lodging  for  the  ministers,  who  rarely 
remained  more  than  a  few  weeks  in  one  place.  Stabling  and 
food  were  also  furnished  for  their  horses.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  remuneration  of  the  itinerant  preachers  can  hardly 
be  deemed  liberal,  most  of  them  previous  to  1770  receiving 


1753.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  307 

less  than  a  guinea  per  week.  Owing  to  the  housekeeping 
arrangement,  which  cost  under  20«.  weekly,  many  of  the 
items  in  the  accounts  have  a  singular  look  in  a  chapel  record. 
For  example,  there  are  payments  for  tea  kettles,  "sugar 
knippers,"  saucepans,  bedding,  warming  pans,  nightcaps, 
shoes,  slippers,  and  cobbling ;  a  barber  was  paid  a  shilling  a 
week  for  shaving ;  a  domestic  servant  received  £3  ISs. 
yearly ;  and  on  one  occasion  the  chapel  bought  a  horse,  a 
saddle,  and  a  bridle  for  «£18  68.  The  brewer's  account, 
again,  rose  sometimes  to  over  £6  yearly ;  but  some  of  the 
ministers  preferred  stronger  liquors,  and  six  or  eight  quarts 
of  brandy  or  rum  were  sometimes  consumed  in  a  month. 
As  nearly  two  gallons  of  wine  were  required  on  each  Com- 
munion day,  the  expense  under  this  head  was  large.  In 
December,  1776,  there  is  an  item — "  To  the  Rev.  Rowland 
Hill,  for  one-eighth  of  a  pipe  of  port,  6  dozen  and  B  bottles, 
£5  17j?.  lOid."  (Mr.  Hill  had  resided  two  months  at  the 
chapel  in  the  previous  year,  and  was  paid  six  guineas  for 
his  services.)  Candles  were  another  neavy  charge,  and  a 
special  collection  was  made  at  intervals  to  meet  the  outlay. 
The  total  income  of  the  congregation  was  only  £143  in  1766, 
but  it  gradually  increased  until  177B-6,  when  there  was  a 
notable  influx  of  new  subscribers;  and  in  1777  Abraham 
Elton,  Esq.,  joined  the  society,  and  contributed  £50  both  in 
that  and  the  following  year.  About  the  same  period  a 
system  was  adopted  of  selling  tickets  for  seats  in  the 
galleries — one  of  which  was  reserved  for  men  and  the  other 
for  women.  The  largest  collection  made  at  this  period 
was  in  September,  1776,  when,  after  a  sermon  by  Mr. 
Hill,  £20  14^?.  were  obtained  "  for  Kingswood  Tabernacle, 
towards  enlarging  him.''  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that 
in  a  single  twelvemonth  the  treasurer  had  to  take  credit  for 
£2  l.*?.  "  bad  halfpence  and  silver,  at  various  collections.'' 

In  the  closing  months  of  1753,  Messrs.  Cranfield  Becher 
and  John  Heylyn  applied  to  the  civic  authorities,  on  behalf 
of  several  leading  citizens,  for  the  demise  of  certain  premises 
in  Prince's  Street,  for  the  purjKDse  of  erecting  a  handsome 
Assembly  Room  on  the  site.  At  a  Council  meeting  in 
December,  it  was  resolved  to  grant  the  applicants  a  lease  of 
the  spot,  on  which  four  old  tenements  then  stood,  on  payment 
of  a  fine  of  £400,  and  a  yearly  rent  of  £6 ;  the  lease  to  be  re- 
newable every  14  years  on  payment,  after  the  first  renewal,  of 
a  fine  of  £100.  The  Corporation  reserved  a  right  of  occupying 
the  hall  for  six  days  in  every  year,  thus  securing  a  convenient 
dining  or  ball-room,  for  which  recourse  had  previously  to  be 


308  THE   ANNALS   07   BBI8T0L  [1753-54. 

made  to  the  Merchants'  Society.  The  promoters  raised  the 
needful  capital  by  issuing  1^  shares  of  £30  each  on  the 
principle  of  a  tontine,  the  property  to  devolve  eventually 
upon  the  nominees  of  the  three  Icust  surviving  lives.  (One 
of  these  survivoi-s  was  probably  the  once  celebrated  Sir 
Nathaniel  Wraxall,  Bart.,  bom  in  Queen  Square  in  1761, 
who  died  in  his  81st  year.)  The  shares  were  allotted 
previous  to  the  23rd  June,  1754,  when  the  proprietors 
assented  to  the  suggested  scheme  by  formal  deeds,  one  of 
which  is  amongst  the  Jefferies  MSS.  The  building  was 
constructed  with  unusual  promptitude.  In  the  Bristol 
Journal  of  December  20th,  1756,  is  the  following  advertise- 
ment : — "  On  Wednesday,  the  14th  January,  1766,  will  be 
open'd  The  New  Musick  Boom,  with  the  oratorio  of  *  The 
Messiah.'  The  band  will  be  composed  of  the  principal  per- 
formers, vocal  and  instrumental,  from  London,  Oxford,  Salis- 
bury, Gloucester,  Wells,  Bath,  &c.  ...  A  concerto  on  the 
organ  by  Mr.  Broderip."  The  tickets  were  bs.  each.  The 
Journal  did  not  notice  the  performance,  but  a  correspondent, 
in  praising  its  excellence,  observed,  "  'Twill  be  superfluous 
to  mention  the  elegance  of  the  room,  chandeliers,  &c." 
Another  musical  festival  took  place  in  the  building  on  the 
2nd  and  3rd  March,  1767,  *'at  the  opening  of  the  new 
organ,"  when  "  Judas  Maccabaeus  "  and  "  The  Messiah  " 
were  produced.  In  the  following  July  the  furniture  of  the 
old  Assembly  Room  was  advertised  for  sale  by  auction, 
leaving  the  field  open  to  the  new  institution.  But  according 
to  "  A  Tour  through  Great  Britain  "  (1761),  the  old  theatre 
at  Stoke's  Croft  was  converted  into  an  assembly  room,  and 
dancing  took  place  there  once  a  week  during  the  winter. 

The  following  announcement  in  Felix  Farley^s  Journal^ 
of  the  22nd  December,  1763,  reads  like  a  sorry  joke ;  but 
frequent  notices  of  a  similar  character  prove  that  it  was  in 
fact  a  grim  reality  : — "  The  miserable,  poor,  unhappy,  and 
long-confined  insolvent  debtors  in  Newgate,  being  36  in 
number,  hereby  return  thanks  for  twopence  each  distributed 
to  them."  In  another  paragraph,  nine  colliers,  imprisoned 
for  rioting,  acknowledge  with  gratitude  the  receipt  of  a  gift 
of  sixpence  each. 

Mr.  William  Vick,  a  wealthy  wine  merchant,  residing  in 
Queen  Square  (often  of  late  years,  but  inaccurately,  st^'^led 
an  alderman),  died  on  the  3rd  January,  1764.  By  his  will, 
Mr.  Vick,  after  sundry  dispositions,  left  his  residuary  estate 
to  his  sister  Rebecca  and  to  Roger  Watts,  subject  to  the 
payment  of  £1,000  to  the  Merchants'  Society,  directing  that 


1754.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  309 

this  sum  should  be  invested,  together  with  the  yearly  interest, 
until  it  should  have  accumulated  to  £10,000.  When  that  sum 
had  been  attained,  the  Society  were  directed  to  construct  a 
stone  bridge  over  the  Avon  from  Clifton  Down  to  the  oppo- 
site height,  the  passage  to  be  free  from  toll.  In  the  event  of 
this  design  proving  impracticable,  the  fund  was  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Corporation,  which  was  to  devote  £4,000  to 
granting  temporary  loans  to  young  clothworkers  of  Min- 
chinhampton  or  Bristol,  while  the  remainder  was  to  be 
bestowed  in  founding  and  maintaining  a  hospital  for  ille- 
gitimate children,  which  the  testator  described  as  a  "  useful 
and  much  needed  charity."  The  terms  of  Mr.  Vick's 
bequest  appear  to  have  excited  as  much  amusement  as 
surprise,  and  witless  gibes  at  the  old  wine  merchant's 
morality  have  been  re-echoed  in  our  own  time.  The  results 
of  his  gift  are  recorded  in  the  Annals  of  the  present  century 
(pp.  131,  376). 

Felix  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  February  9th  announces : — "The 
Bristol  Flying  Machine,  for  London,  in  two  days,  sets  out  on 
Monday,  the  26th  inst.,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning." 
The  machines  took  wing  three  times  a  week  during  the 
summer,  and  had  no  competitors,  the  only  other  coaches  out 
of  Bristol  being  three  plying  to  Bath,  and  one  to  Gloucester. 
It  should  be  added  that  the  Bristol  coaches  were  amongst 
the  swiftest  in  the  kingdom.  In  this  year,  1764,  the  flying 
coach  from  London  to  Edinburgh,  *'a  genteel  glass  machine, 
exceedingly  light,"  performed  the  journey  in  "ten  days  in 
summer  and  twelve  in  winter."  A  Manchester  advertise- 
ment of  the  same  date  stated  that,  "  however  incredible  it 
might  appear,"  a  coach  reached  London  from  that  town  (187 
miles)  in  four  days  and  a  half.  Liverpool  was  destitute  of  a 
London  coach  until  1760. 

An  amusing  illustration  of  the  drinking  habits  of  the  age 
is  afforded  by  an  advertisement  in  Fdix  Farley^s  Journal 
for  March  9th,  1764: — "  Henry  Haines,  barber,  Itedcliff  Pit, 
shaves  each  person  for  twopence,  cuts  hair  for  three  half- 
pence, and  bleeds  for  sixpence.  AH  customers  who  are  bled 
he  treats  with  two  quarts  of  good  ale,  and  those  whom  he 
shaves  or  cuts  their  hair  with  a  pint  each." 

A  general  election  took  place  in  April.  The  Bristol  Whigs, 
who  had  been  unrepresented  for  twelve  years,  brought  for- 
ward Mr.  Robert  Nugent,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury, 
and  a  prominent  member  of  the  dissolved  House  of  Commons. 
(Mr.  Nugent  is  said  to  have  begun  life  as  a  teacher  in  a 
nobleman's  family,  but  through  three  successive  marriages 


310  THE   ANNALti   OF   BRISTOL  [1754. 

to  wealthy  ladies,  aided  by  skilful  trimming  as  a  courtier, 
he  f  cquired  great  riches.)  Mr.  Southwell  and  Mr.  Hoblyn 
having  both  retired,  their  iriends  introduced  Sir  John 
Philipps,  a  Welsh  baronet  with  Jacobite  sympathies,  and 
Richard  Beckford,  an  alderman  of  London,  largely  interested 
in  the  sugar  plantations.  Beckford  being  then  at  Jamaica, 
his  interests  were  championed  by  his  more  celebrated  brother, 
William,  and  it  is  recorded  that  in  the  heat  of  the  contest 
the  peppery  slaveowner,  irritated  by  the  jeers  of  a  Whig 
mob,  compared  Bristolians  in  unequivocal  language  to  "  a 
parcel  of  hogs."  No  fewer  than  986  persons  were  admitted 
to  the  freedom  during  the  month  of  April,  the  fees  being 
paid  by  one  or  other  of  the  candidates.  The  contest  was 
prolific  in  squibs,  in  one  of  w^hich  Mr.  Nugent,  who  was  a 
convert  from  Bomanism,  was  styled  "  a  whitewashed  Pro- 
testant," while  Mr.  Beckford  was  stigmatised  in  others  as  a 
'•  West  India  hog "  and  "  a  Negroe  tyrant."  Nugent's 
friends  recommended  him  to  the  electors  for  having  "  pre- 
vented the  introduction  of  French  bottles,  and  by  that 
means  saved  hundreds  of  families  in  the  city  from  starv- 
ing ; "  while  they  jeeringly  commended  the  candidature 
of  Sir  J.  Philipps,  who  had  paraded  the  streets  of  Bristol 
soon  after  the  Jacobite  rebellion  in  a  plaid  waistcoat,  as 
**  acceptable  to  our  friends  in  the  Highlands  by  wearing 
their  livery."  The  polling,  which  continued  for  a  fortnight, 
closed  on  the  1st  May,  with  the  following  result: — "Mr. 
Nugent,  2690;  Mr.  Beckford,  2248;  Sir  J.  Philipps,  2163. 
According  to  the  poll  book,  only  about  110  resident  electors 
refrained  from  voting.  Amongst  the  members  of  the 
Council,  33  polled  for  Nugent,  3  for  Beckford,  and  2  for 
Philipps ;  and  Emanuel  Collins,  who  seems  to  have  op- 
posed Nugent,  praised  the  civic  body  for  "gloriously" 
refraining  from  exercising  any  pressure  on  the  citizens 
("  Miscellanies,"  p.  21).  A  novelty  in  electioneering  festi- 
vities was  introduced  at  the  close  of  the  poll — a  display  of 
fireworks  before  the  Merchants'  Hall  in  honour  of  Mr. 
Nugent's  return.  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  (the  Tory  organ) 
chuckhngly  recorded,  however,  that  heavy  rain  fell  during 
the  evening,  and  that,  although  the  public  lamps  "  had 
been  conveyed  to  their  summer  repository,"  leaving  the 
streets  in  darkness,  the  display  was  so  unsatisfactory  that 
the  populace,  in  spite  of  a  "  large  quantity  of  liquor  given 
away,"  went  off  '*  cursing  the  Yellows'  empty  show."  In 
some  doggerel  lines  that  follow,  Mr.  Nugent's  election  is 
alleged  to  have  cost  the  Whigs  £20,000.     As  the  Beckfords 


1754.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  311 

spent  their  enormous  fortunes  with  great  prodigality,  the 
expenditure  is  not  likely  to  have  been  less  on  the  other  side. 
The  new  members  were  immediately  presented  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city,  and  the  yearly  compliment  of  a  present 
of  wine  was  revived  and  continued. 

The  increasing  popularity  of  the  Hot  Well  is  attested  by 
the  following  announcement,  issued  in  May,  1754:  — 
'*  Elizabeth  Trinder,  from  the  Lebeck's  Head  Tavern,  Bath, 
has  opened  a  house  at  the  Hotwells  for  the  reception  of 
company  as  a  tavern  or  eating-house.  An  ordinary  every 
day  at  three  o'clock,  at  half-a-crown  a  head  .  .  .  the  house 
being  the  first  of  the  kind  attempted  here."  The  tavern 
keeper,  who  named  her  premises  "the  Lebeck''  after  a 
celebrated  cook,  occupied  the  large  house  standing  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  Dowry  Square. 

The  aldermanic  order  of  1736,  requiring  the  inhabitants 
to  maintain  a  body  of  fifty-one  watchmen  for  the  protection 
of  the  city  during  the  night,  was  perfunctorily  obeyed  from 
the  outset,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  as  appears  from 
the  Brhitol  Journal  of  January  13th,  1753,  it  became  wholly 
obsolete.  The  Corporation  was  doubtless  sincere  in  its 
anxiety  to  apply  a  remedy,  but  its  usual  practice  of  dis- 
claiming any  pecuniary  burden  while  demanding  unre- 
stricted control  of  the  needful  machinery  repelled  popular 
support,  and  the  announcement  of  its  intention  to  apply  for 
Parliamentary  powers  to  levy  a  rate  revived  the  hostile  feel- 
ing excited  by  the  Lighting  Act  of  1749.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  Council  on  the  22nd  May,  1754,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  a  Bill,  and  was  empowered  "  to  make 
use  of,  direct,  and  prosecute  all  such  legal  and  justifiable 
measures  as  they  shall  think  proper  for  the  better  support 
of  the  authority  and  the  vindication  of  the  honour  and 
reputation  of  the  magistracy  of  this  city."  On  the  other 
hand,  a  powerful  opposition  was  organised,  in  which  many 
of  the  guardians  of  the  poor  took  part,  party  passions  aroused 
by  the  general  election  embittering  the  strife.  The  Bill  was 
brought  into  the  House  of  Commons  by  Mr.  Nuo:ent  early 
in  1755,  and  was  supported  by  petitions  from  the  Merchants' 
Society  and  influential  citizens,  while  a  petition  against  the 
measure,  declaring  that  the  Corporation  m  no  respect  repre- 
sented the  inhabitants,  was  forwarded  by  persons  styling 
themselves  the  principal  merchants  and  traders.  On  the 
14  th  February  the  scheme  gave  rise  to  a  remarkable  debate, 
Sir  John  Philipps,  the  rejected  candidate  of  the  previous 
year,  who  had  found  a  seat  elsewhere,  moving  tnat  the 


312  THE   ANNALS   07  BBISTOL  [1754. 

powers  sought  by  the  Corporation  should  be  conferred  on 
"  trustees  "  elected  by  the  ratepayers.     The  want  of  protec- 
tion under  which  the  city  had  long  suffered  was,  he  said, 
due  to  the  contentions  existing  between  the  inhabitants  and 
the  Council.     He  was  supported  by  the  two  Beckfords  and  a 
Mr.  W.  Northey,  who  contended,  like  the  mover,  that  the 
Council  was  a  narrow  oligarchy,  which  had  already  usurped 
nearly  all  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants,  and  that  the  real 
object  of  the  scheme  was  to  corrupt  the  poor  freemen  by 
engaging  some  300  as  watchmen  at  a  salary  of  7s,  a  week 
each,  by  which  means  the  members  for  the  city  would  be 
practically  nominated  by  the  Chamber.     The  Bill  was  sup- 
ported by  three  members  of  the  Government,  Mr.  Nugent, 
Lord  Barrington  (grandson  and  co-heir  of  Sir  Wm.  Daines, 
M.P.)    and    Mr.   Pitt.     On  a  division — which  was  really  a 
party   one — the   amendment    was   rejected   by    1B3    votes 
against  71.     Another  amendment,  disqualifying  watchmen 
as  electors,  was  negatived  by  18B  against  5B  votes.     The 
Corporation  of  the  Poor  then  petitioned  the  House  of  Lords 
to  reject  the  Bill,  alleging  that  the  guardians  alone  repre- 
sented  the  opinion  of  the  ratepayers;  but  the  opposition 
was  fruitless,  and    the  scheme  received    the  Royal  Assent. 
It  enacted  that  the  number  of  watchmen  should  be  settled 
yearly  in  quarter  sessions,  and  that   the  aldermen  should 
appoint  or  remove  the  constables,  who  were  to  keep  watch 
nightly  for  eight  hours  in  winter,  and   seven  in  summer. 
Their  maintenance  was  to  be  defrayed  by  a  rate  on  houses 
valued  at  £7  a  year  or  upwards,  and  the  ratepayers  were 
discharged  from  the  statutable  liability  to  keep  watch  and 
ward.     The  Act  was  so  badly  drawn  as  to  be  unworkable, 
and  an  amending  Bill  was  surreptitiously  presented  in  the 
following  session.     The  opposition,  which  gained  scent   of 
the  scheme  only  through  the  privately  printed  votes  of  the 
Commons,  again    petitioned,    asserting   that    men   of  bad 
character,  having  been  appointed  watchmen,  bad  committed 
great  irregularities,  and   even  "committed  a  most  horrid 
murder."  (Three  watchmen  had  really  ill-treated  a  woman 
so  cruelly  that  they  were    afterwards  convicted  of  man- 
slaughter.)   The   opponents   did   not  challenge  a  division, 
and  the  Bill  passed.     New  clauses  in  this  measure  restricted 
the  number  of  constables  to  160  (which  in  practice  was  re- 
duced to  115),  while  occupiers  of  grasslands — still  numerous 
in  the  city — were  exempted  from  the  rate. 

In  August,  1764,  a  ship  captain  was  brought  before  the 
local   magistrates  and  fined  for  having  some  soap  manu- 


1754-55.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUET.  313 

factured  in  Ireland  on  board  his  vessel.  The  prosecution 
was  instigated  by  the  Bristol  soapmakers,  who  offered  a 
reward  in  the  Bristol  Journal  to  any  one  giving  information 
of  infractions  of  the  English  monopoly. 

The  Council,  on  the  31st  August,  presented  the  freedom 
of  the  city  to  the  Earl  of  Berkeley,  Lord  Lieutenant,  and 
also  to  Viscount  Barrington,  in  gratitude  for  his  support  of 
the  Watching  Bill.  Lord  Berkeley  died  in  the  following 
January,  when  Lord  Ducie  was  appointed  Lord  Lieutenant, 
and,  a  few  weeks  later,  was  made  a  freeman. 

A  writer  in  the  Gentleman^s  Magazine  for  August,  1754, 
stated  that  the  great  west  road  from  London  to  Bristol, 
"  through  the  ignorance  of  its  constructors,  errs  and  blun- 
ders in  all  the  forms.  ...  No  outlets  were  made  for  the 
water  that  stagnates  in  the  body  of  the  road ;  it  was  never 
sufficiently  widened.  .  .  .  'Tis  the  worst  public  road  in 
Europe,  considering  what  vast  sums  have  oeen  collected 
from  it.'' 

Glass  was  at  this  time  very  costly.  The  Corporation,  in 
September,  was  called  upon  to  pay  £4  Ifo.  for  "  a  glass  put 
into  Mr.  Alderman  Laroche's  coach,  in  the  place  of  one 
broken  at  the  gaol  delivery."  About  fifteen  glass  manu- 
factories were  then  being  carried  on  in  the  city,  but  many 
firms  confined  themselves  to  bottle  making. 

The  vestry  of  Clifton  parish  resolved,  in  November,  to 
impose  a  rate  upon  the  inhabitants  for  the  repair  of  the 
church  tower  and  of  the  road  near  Jacob's  Wells.  The  fact 
is  now  interesting  only  from  the  information  it  affords  as  to 
the  rateable  value  of  the  parish,  which  amounted  to  no 
more  than  £5,030 — about  one-fortieth  of  the  value  in  1892. 

The  city  had  been  up  to  this  time  chiefly  supplied  with 
coal  from  Kingswood  and  Brislington.  An  advertisement 
in  a  local  newspaper  of  Januair,  1755,  announced  that  a 
new  road  had  just  been  made  from  Bedminster  Bridewell 
"  to  the  new  coal  work  there,  where  coal  is  sold  on  as  reason- 
able terms  as  at  any  other  colliery." 

Pugilism  was  so  extremely  popular  with  all  classes  of 
Bristolians  that  an  occasional  reference  to  the  '^ sport"  is 
required  to  illustrate  social  habits.  Fdix  Farley^s  Journal  of 
February  Ist,  1756,  contains  the  following  advertisement : — 
"  The  famous  boxing  match  depending  between  John  Harris 
and  John  Slack  will  be  decided  on  Thursday  next,  at  the 
Tennis  Court  at  Barton  Hundred.  The  doors  to  be  opened 
at  10,  and  the  champions  to  mount  at  2.  Tickets  to  be  had 
at  the  Bush  and  Bummer  Taverns.  .  .  .  Gallery,  2«.  6(i. ; 


314  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1755. 

court,  Is.  N.B. — There  will  be  several  bye  battles."  The 
victory  of  Slack  (a  Norwich  man)  is  recorded  in  the  follow- 
ing week's  paper.  The  Bristolians  were  rash  enough  to  bet 
10  to  1  on  their  favourite  Harris,  but  he  was  overthrown  in 
six  minutes.  Another  fight,  for  £150,  between  Slack  and 
Cornelius  Harris,  of  Brislington,  took  place  on  the  6th  March 
at  a  yard  in  Guinea  Street,  when  Harris  was  so  dreadfully 
beaten  that  his  recovery  was  considered  improbable.  **  On 
this  battle,"  says  the  Journal^  "  centered  all  the  hopes  of  that 
family,  who  have  now  lost  their  boasted  honour  of  never 
having  been  beat."  In  connection  with  this  subject,  a  brief 
notice  of  the  Whitsuntide  sports  announced  at  Long  Ashton 
in  the  following  May  may  not  be  out  of  place.  A  good 
beaver  hat  was  promised  to  the  best  wrestler,  and  another  to 
the  skilfulest  player  at  "  Butt  and  Cudgel,"  "  he  that  breaks 
the  most  heads  and  saves  his  own  "  to  have  the  prize.  "  A 
good  buckskin  pair  of  breeches  "  were  also  to  be  played  for 
at  backsword.  In  1766  the  "  lovers  of  the  noble  and  manly 
exercise  of  backsword  "  were  invited  to  a  tournament  at  the 
Ostrich  inn,  Durdham  Down,  five  guineas  being  promised 
to  *'  the  first  best  man  who  breaks  most  heads,  saving  his 
own,"  and  smaller  prizes  to  second  and  third  best  competi- 
tors. The  advertisement  ends  with  the  significant  note  : — • 
"  Vinegar  by  J.  W." 

War  with  France  being  imminent,  the  local  authorities 
received  instructions  to  employ  the  brutal  measures  then  in 
favour  for  reinforcing  the  navy.  A  local  journal  of  March 
8th  savs : — "  Last  night  the  constables  searched  all  our 
public  houses,  &c.,  for  sailors,  and  having  picked  up  about 
120,  lodged  them  in  the  Guildhall,  where  they  are  guarded 
by  a  party  of  soldiers."  From  subsequent  references  to  the 
subject,  it  appears  that  the  pressgangs  continued  briskly 
employed  for  upwards  of  two  months.  On  the  arrival  of 
several  vessels  from  distant  ports  early  in  May,  170  men 
who  had  been  long  separated  from  their  families  were  im- 
pressed in  a  single  night. 

The  consumption  of  tea  was  still  too  limited  to  enable  a 
tradesman  to  live  by  the  sale  of  it  alone.  One  of  the  best 
known  local  dealers  in  the  article,  Hannah  James,  of  High 
Street,  announced  in  April  her  new  purchases  in  ornamental 
china,  adding  the  following  note  : — "  Her  stock  in  the  hosiery 
way  is  to  be  sold  off  very  low.  All  sorts  of  chip  hats  of  the 
newest  fashion.  Teas  as  usual."  A  fortnight  later,  a  snuff 
dealer  in  Maryleport  Street  announced  that  he  sold  "  all 
sorts  of  fine  teas  at  the  London  prices." 


1755.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  315 

A  strike  of  journeymen  tailors  took  place  in  May.  A  para- 
graph communicated  to  the  local  papers  stated  that  the 
magistrates  were  determined  to  put  the  laws  against  work- 
men's combinations  strictly  in  force,  and  pointed  out,  as  a 
warning  to  the  refractory,  that  for  the  first  oflfence  a  man 
was  liable  to  a  fine  of  £10,  or  twenty  days'  imprisonment ; 
for  a  second,  to  a  penalty  of  £20,  or  exhibition  in  the  pillory; 
and  for  a  third,  to  a  mulct  of  £40,  or  to  be  pilloried  and  lose 
an  ear.  In  despite  of  this  menace,  the  workmen  refused  to 
submit.  The  issue  is  not  recorded.  The  current  wages  of 
tailors  were  then  1^.  9d.  for  a  day  of  thirteen  hours. 

English  iron,  being  manufactured  by  means  of  charcoal, 
was  still  a  costly  article.  An  advertisement  of  this  period 
states  that  bar  iron,  "inferior  to  none,''  was  made  by 
Nicholas  Pryce  and  Son,  and  sold  by  Mr.  Jenkins,  Baldwin 
Street,  "  at  £17  7s,  6d.  per  ton,  ready  money." 

The  library  in  the  chapter  house  oi  Bristol  Cathedral  dates 
from  this  year.  The  capitular  minutes  record  that  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hamond  had  proposed  to  establish  a  library  for  the  use 
of  the  residing  "  prebends  and  cannons,"  and  had  paid  for 
that  purpose  ten  guineas,  in  lieu  of  a  treat  usually  given  by 
a  new  prebendary,  whereupon  he  was  desired  to  lay  out  the 
money  in  the  purchase  of  books.  A  number  of  private  gifts 
must  have  followed,  for  on  the  27th  August,  1760,  the 
minutes  state  that  the  library  had  been  **  brought  to  some 
perfection,  and  was  likely  to  meet  with  a  great  increase." 
The  Rev.  John  Camplin,  precentor,  was  thereupon  appointed 
the  first  librarian,  with  a  salary  of  40;j.  a  year.  Nearly  the 
whole  of  this  library  was  destroyed  in  the  riots  of  1831  (see 
"  Annals,"  p.  162). 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  July  19th  records  that  a  soldier, 
convicted  of  stealing  a  shirt  (of  which  he  was  probably  in 
urgent  need),  had  been  sentenced  by  court  martial  to  receive 
1,000  lashes !  The  unhappy  wretch,  on  learning  the  sen- 
tence, nearly  killed  himself  by  cutting  his  throat ;  so  the 
authorities,  on  his  partial  recovery,  ordered  him  200  lashes, 
and  had  him  drummed  out  of  the  regiment.  About  the 
same  time  a  man,  for  an  offence  on  a  child,  was  sentenced  by 
the  magistrates  to  be  twice  whipped  from  Broad  mead  to 
Stoke's  Croft  Gate  (Cheltenham  Road)  and  back  again. 

The  earliest  mention  of  a  long-popular  place  of  recreation 
occurs  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  July  19th.  *•  The  Old  Fox 
public  house,  at  Broad  Stoney,  near  Lower  Easton,"  is 
offered  to  be  sold  or  let,  having  "  a  bathing  place  in  the  river 
Froom,  with  commodious  dressing  houses." 


316  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1755. 

Dr.  John  Conybeare,  Dean  of  Christ  Church,  who  suc- 
ceeded Bishop  Butler  in  the  see  of  Bristol,  died  in  July,  1766, 
and  was  buried  in  his  cathedral,  being  the  ninth  prelate 
whose  remains  had  been  interred  there.  Dr.  Conybeare  was 
little  known  in  Bristol,  but  his  theological  works  have  still  a 
high  reputation.  Poor  as  was  the  bishopric,  there  were 
many  eager  applicants  for  the  vacancy.  Amongst  the  Cole 
MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  is  a  letter  to  Cole  from  Dr. 
Lyttelton,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  dated  September 
8th,  1766  : — "  I  thank  you,"  he  writes,  "  for  j^our  good  wishes 
to  see  me  at  Bristol,  but  I  believe  that  mitre  will  be  placed  on 
another  person's  head.  As  to  the  revenue  ...  I  am  very 
certain  Dr.  Conybeare  made  no  more  than  £330  clear,  and 
during  the  whole  time  he  was  a  bishop,  except  one  fine  of 
six  guineas,  which  was  all  he  ever  received.  It  would  al- 
most ruin  me  to  take  it ;  but,  however,  was  it  offered,  I 
should  hardly  refuse  it,  being  a  step  to  better  things."  The 
fortunate  candidate  was  John  Hume,  D.D.,  who,  in  1768, 
was  translated  to  Oxford. 

Various  strange  natural  phenomena,  inexplicable  at  the 
moment,  were  noticed  in  the  West  of  England  on  the  1st 
November.  The  ebbing  tide  in  the  Avon  suddenly  flowed 
back  for  a  time,  and  the  water  in  many  deep  wells  became 
discoloured  and  undrinkable.  Captain  G.  W.  Manby,  in  his 
**  Fugitive  Sketches  of  Clifton,"  published  in  1802,  stated  on 
the  authority  of  a  person  who  witnessed  the  marvel  that  the 
Hot  Well  water  suddenly  became  as  red  as  blood,  where- 
upon "  all  flew  to  the  churches,  where  prayers  were  offered 
to  avert  theapparent  approach  of  their  destruction,"  and  that 
of  the  world.  "  The  water  ran  foul  for  a  length  of  time." 
An  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  was  found  soon  after- 
wards in  the  tidings  of  the  calamitous  earthquake  at  Lisbon. 

A  document  laid  before  the  Council  in  December,  1765, 
offers  the  first  indication  of  a  feeling  amongst  some  of  the 
leading  citizens  that  the  shipping  accommodation  of  the  port 
was  becoming  too  limited  for  its  requirements.  A  committee 
appointed  to  consider  the  duties  of  the  quay  warden  and 
water  bailiff  presented  a  report,  recommending  certain  new 
regulations  touching  those  officers,  but  expressing  their 
opinion  that  "  No  human  prudence  could  prevent  the  grow- 
ing danger  to  ships  without  provision  were  made  for  further 
room,  the  want  whereof  doth  greatly  endanger  the  safety  of 
ships,  and  by  which  they  daily  sustain  considerable  damage." 
No  action  was  taken  by  the  Chamber.  The  need  for  im- 
provement, however,  became  more  urgent ;  and  in  August, 


1755.]  IN   THE    EIGBTEENTH    CENTURY.  317 

1767,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  what  provision 
should  be  maJe  for  the  better  accommodation  of  vessels.  As 
no  report  was  presented,  it  must  be  assumed  that  the  progres- 
sive party  were  in  a  minority.     Nevertheless,  in  Tebruary, 

1768,  the  town  clerk  was  ordered  to  publish  advertisements 
in  the  London  papers  "  for  persons  to  survey  the  rivers 
Avon  and  Froom,  and  consider  of  proper  measures  for 
making  some  convenient  part  thereof  into  a  wet  dock."  If 
this  invitation  produced  any  plans,  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
improvement  probably  alarmed  the  Corporation.  At  all 
events,  it  abandoned  all  thoughts  of  a  dock,  and  fell  back 
upon  a  device  which  cast  deep  discredit  upon  its  authors. 
In  December,  1768,  a  committee  appointed  to  consider  "of 
ways  and  means  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  port "  reported  that  they  had  consulted  with  a 
similar  committee  nominated  by  the  Merchants'  Society, 
when  the  latter  committee  informed  them  that  the  Society 
would  enlarge  the  quays  and  wharves  at  their  own  expense, 
provided  that  their  lease  of  the  quays  and  wharfage  dues, 
which  had  "  only  34  years  to  come,"  were  regranted  for  a 
longer  number  of  years  and  for  a  greater  extent  of  ground. 
It  was  recommended  that  such  a  lease  should  be  conceded 
for  the  term  of  99  years  at  a  rental  of  £10,  and  that  the 
Society  should  have  the  whole  of  the  quays  and  wharves 
along  the  east  side  of  the  Troom,  and  also  along  the  north 
bank  of  the  Avon  to  a  dung  wharf  near  the  Welsh  Back, 
including  all  the  houses,  slips,  and  duties  embraced  in  the 
lease  then  running.  In  consideration  of  this  grant  the 
Society  would  undertake  to  erect  quay  walls  where  none 
then  existed  on  the  demised  ground,  and  would  also  build  a 
little  quay,  130  feet  long,  at  St.  Augustine's  Back.  The 
Common  Council  confirmed  this  extraordinary  report,  and 
ordered  the  proposed  lease  to  be  executed ;  but  it  was  not 
sealed  until  September,  1764,  when  the  Corporation  sur- 
rendered its  property  in  the  quays  and  wharfage  dues  for 
nearly  a  century,  receiving  merely  a  nominal  consideration. 
The  expense  of  constructing  the  new  quay  on  the  Grove, 
finished  about  1771,  is  said  to  have  been  only  about  £9,700. 
The  other  works  were  of  comparatively  trifling  cost.  No 
accounts  of  the  wharfage  dues  were  allowed  to  see  the  light, 
but  Mr.  Barrett,  in  his  History,  stated  that  the  income  in 
1787  already  reached  upwards  of  £2,000  a  year,  and  the  sub- 
sequent increase  must  have  been  very  large. 

The  population  seems  to  have  been  increasing  somewhat 
rapidly  at  this  period,  but  tb©  wealthier  classes  still  shunned 


318  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1755-56. 

the  attractions  of  Clifton.  About  the  close  of  1765  a  square 
was  laid  out  on  the  slope  of  Kingsdown.  "  The  New- 
Square,"  for  it  was  seldom  styled  King  Square  until  some 
years  later,  was  one  of  John  Wesley's  favourite  preaching 
stations.  Several  wealthy  families  then  inhabited  it.  The 
house  numbered  18,  built  by  a  merchant  named  Ash,  cost 
£3,000.  Contemporaneously  with  these  upper-class  erections, 
a  numbar  of  dwellings  were  rising  in  the  "  Old  Orchard  "  of 
the  Dominican  friary — an  estate  which  fell  to  the  Penn 
family  through  the  marriage  of  the  famous  William  Penn 
with  Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Callowhill,  a  Bristol 
Quaker.  "New  built"  houses  in  Callowhill  Street  are 
mentioned  in  a  local  paper  in  1765.  In  March,  1767,  another 
new  dwelling  was  offered  "  in  a  street  named  Penn  Street,  in 
the  Old  Orchard."  Philadelphia  Street  was  built  a  few 
years  later. 

An  appeal  entitled  "  The  State  of  the  Bristol  Infirmary  " 
was  published  in  the  local  journals  of  Tebruary  14th,  1766. 
The  writer  stated  that  owing  to  the  increased  number  of 
casualties,  it  had  been  necessary  to  lodge  several  patients 
in  neighbouring  houses.  By  the  aid  of  donations  the  centre 
front  had  been  raised  a  storey,  and  two  new  wards  had  just 
been  completed,  increasing  the  njimber  of  beds  to  134.  On 
the  other  hand  the  annual  charge  of  the  institution  had 
risen  to  £2,200,  while  the  403  subscribers  contributed  only 
£926.  The  debt  having  increased  in  1767,  the  position  of 
the  charity  was  forced  on  public  attention,  and  for  the  first 
time  collections  were  taken  in  all  the  parish  churches,  while 
a  house  to  house  requisition  was  made  in  each  district.  The 
movement,  which  brought  in  about  £650,  is  now  interesting 
as  affording  an  indication  of  the  localities  inhabited  by  the 
wealthy  classes.  Clifton  produced  £33,  and  Redland  £2i). 
In  the  city  proper,  St.  James's  contributed  £114,  St.  Nicholas' 
£82,  St.  Augustine's  £57,  St.  Philip's  £67,  Castle  Precincts 
£51,  St.  St>ephen's  £50,  Christ  Church  £30,  Redcliff  £22, 
St.  Michael's  £21,  St.  John's  £21.  The  other  parishes  pro- 
duced amounts  varying  from  £19  to  £3. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Richard  Beckford,  in  January,  caused  a 
vacancy  in  the  representation  of  the  city,  and  an  election 
took  place  in  March.  The  Tory  party  brought  forward  Mr. 
Jarrit  Smith,  the  eminent  local  attorney,  while  the  Hon. 
John  Spencer  (afterwards  Earl  Spencer)  offered  himself  as 
a  Whig.  The  local  press  was  singularly  remiss  in  reporting 
the  incidents  of  the  contest.  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  did  not 
even  take  the  trouble  to  record  the  numbar  of  votes  polled. 


1756.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  319 

After  a  close  contest,  continued  for  fourteen  days,  Mr.  Smith 
was  found  to  have  received  2,426  votes,  against  2,374  recorded 
for  his  opponent.  A  curious  letter  written  by  John  Wesley 
at  Marlborough,  in  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  MSS.,  says : — 
"  I  am  hastening  to  Bristol  on  account  of  the  election,"  and 
he  is  said  to  have  worked  energetically  on  behalf  of  Mr. 
Smith.  A  petition  was  presented  against  the  return, 
alleging  that  many  good  votes  for  Spencer  were  rejected, 
but  the  case  was  eventually  abandoned.  Another  document 
in  the  British  Museum — a  letter  from  Mr.  Nugent  to  the 
Union  Committee  at  Bristol — shows  that  the  Whigs  sought 
the  pecuniary  help  of  the  Government.  A  deputation  had 
applied  to  Lord  Granville,  but  his  lordship,  says  Nugent, 
had  referred  them  to  Mr.  Spencer,  who  would  soon  be  in 
London.  "  At  the  same  time  that  you  apply  to  Mr.  Spencer 
for  the  £3,000,  I  suppose  you  will  think  it  right  to  lay  open 
to  him  the  expenses  already  incurred,  the  debt  now  due  by 
you,  and  the  impossibility  of  raising  by  subscription  a  suffi- 
cient sum  to  carry  on  a  petition."  Mr.  Nugent  strongly 
advised  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to  help  his  Bristol  friends 
out  of  their  difficulties,  which  "  would  confirm  them  our's 
for  ever."  The  result  does  not  appear.  Mr.  Smith,  after 
taking  his  seat,  set  off  for  Bristol,  and  was  met  some  miles 
outside  the  city  by  a  large  body  of  friends,  in  coaches,  whose 
escort  through  the  streets  formed  an  imposing  procession. 
At  College  Green  a  triumphal  arch  had  been  erected,  in 
which  a  carved  representation,  of  the  royal  arms  of  the 
Stewarts,  borrowed  from  All  Saints'  Church,  was  a  con- 
spicuous ornament.  It  is  a  curious  illustration  of  the 
passions  of  the  time  that  this  decoration,  being  without  the 
heraldic  blazon  of  the  Hanoverian  family,  was  held  to  be  a 
token  of  sympathy  for  the  Pretender,  and  caused  so  much 
excitement  that  it  had  to  be  removed.  What  is  still  more 
amusing  is  that  Dr.  Tucker  informed  Mr.  Nugent : — "  I 
have  been  pestered  all  day  with  a  lot  of  Methodist  preachers 
who  insist  upon  it  that  they  have  started  and  are  now  hunt- 
ing a  strange  kind  of  game  called  the  Young  Pretender,  and 
have  fairly  tracked  him  to  Mr.  Jarrit  Smith's  house  at  Ash- 
ton,  where  he  is  at  present  under  cover."  Tucker,  with 
considerable  difficulty,  prevented  his  informants  from 
making  a  deposition  before  the  judges  of  assize  (Newcastle 
MSS.,  British  Museum). 

The  occupier  of  the  Exchange  Tavern,  who  was  also  a 
wine  merchant,  issued  an  advertisement  in  April,  17B6, 
stating  the  current  prices  of  wine.     Madeira  was  7s,  6rf., 


320 


THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL 


[1756. 


port  and  sherry  6«.,  and  mountain  and  Lisbon,  4«.  6rf.  per 
gallon  respectively.  Two  years  later  a  London  vintner 
offered  to  supply  local  innkeepers  with  choice  Malaga,  in 
half  hogsheaas,  at  28.  6d.  per  gallon. 

War  with  Trance  was  declared  in  May,  1756.  The  usual 
proclamation  was  made  on  the  22nd  in  Bristol  by  the  sheriffs, 
accompanied  by  "  the  grand  band  of  City  Musick,  assisted 
by  two  Trench  Horns  from  the  Prince  Edward  man  of  war, 
who,  together  with  the  chimes  of  Christ  Church  parish, 
played  *  Britons,  Strike  Home.' " 

Immediate  measures  were  taken  by  the  leading  merchants 
and  shipowners  for  the  fitting  out  of  privateers.  The  zeal 
displayed  on  this  occasion  produced  a  fleet  of  cruisers  far 
exceeding  anything  attempted  in  previous  wars  ;  for  within 
little  more  than  a  twelvemonth  nearly  forty  Bristol  ships 
had  been  equipped  and  sent  to  sea,  over  twenty  more  being 
added  in  the  two  subsequent  years.  The  following  imper- 
fect list,  made  up  from  various  sources,  ofiFers  notable  testi- 
mony as  to  the  ardour  of  the  citizens  and  the  resources  of 
the  port.     The  *  denotes  vessels  captured  by  the  enemy. 


Tons. 
Men. 

0 

Tons. 
Men. 

p 

♦Tyger  ... 

1  •  • 

...  570  280 

86 

Sampson 

•  •  • 

•  •  •      ^^^ 

^^ 

Britannia 

•  • 

...  500  800 

86 

Gallant... 

•  •  • 

•  •  •      "■■            ' 

—^ 

Duke  of  Cornwall 

...  400  220 

80 

Xing  George 

•  •  • 

200 

32 

Antient  Briton 

...  400  250 

80 

Virginian 

•  •  • 

•  •  • 

— . 

Eagle      ... 

...  400  200 

80 

Duke  of  Cumberland 

1  .. 

14 

Bevenge... 

...  850  180 

26 

Blakeney 

•  •  • 

•  •  • 

Lyon 

...  300  200 

28 

Mercury 

•  •  • 

•  •  •                HU 

14 

CsBsar     . . . 

...  820  — 

Lottery  ... 

•  •  • 

...  100  100 

16 

St.  Andrew 

...  800  180 

80 

Tartar's  prize 

•  •  • 

...  100    80 

12 

Defiance... 

...  250  170 

20 

Fortune  (prize) 

...  100  100 

14 

♦Hawke... 

...  250  160 

20 

St.  George 

14 

♦Tartar  ... 

...  250  180 

22 

Crab 

•  •  • 

12 

Anson     . . . 

...  180  150 

20 

Banger  ... 

...    80    60 

10 

Constant  ine 

...  220  180 

18 

Ferret    . . . 

...     70   — 

10 

Phoenix  ... 

...  200  120 

20 

Scorpion 

...     60    60 

8 

Hercules 

...  180  140 

20 

Sterling 
Leopard 

...     50    50 

8 

Halifax  ... 

...  150  100 

20 

...  260  200 

24 

Marlborough 

...  150  120 

18 

Charles  ... 

...  300  120 

22 

♦Enterprise 

...  150  140 

24 

Bristol    ... 

...  500  250 

28 

♦Tryall  ... 

...  150  120 

26 

New  Grace 

18 

Cromwell 

...    —   120 

16 

Amazon . . . 

...  300    60 

18 

Hibemia 

...  180  180 

16 

Bellona  ... 

16 

Dreadnought  . 

...  120  110 

16 

Grace 

•  •  •      ^-«—         '     " 

18 

Vulture  ... 

...  120  — 

16 

Johnson ... 

•  •  • 

Ly  ne 

...  120  100 

16 

Dragon  ... 

...    —   100 

14 

Fox 

...  120  110 

IG 

♦Lockhart 

•  •  • 

—- — 

Prussian  Hero 

...  120  110 

16 

♦Dispatch 

•  •  •         »■— ^            ' 

Hawke   ... 

...  100   — 

— 

Drake     . . . 

...  120 

♦Hay      ... 

•  •  •                        ■     ' 

Bialto    ... 

•  •  •    C^nj 

20 

Pitt 

•  •  •                       ■   I— 

— 

Severn    ... 

•  •  • 



1756.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  321 


• 

• 

S 
P 

O 

Tons. 
Men. 

OQ 

O 

Hornet 

— 

Duke  of  York  . . . 

...   —    — 

Invincible  (prize) 

...  500 

36 

Gloucestershire 

...    —    — 

— 

Salisbury 

...      

— 

— 

Tygress 

...    —    — 

16 

Prince  Ferdinand 

...  230 

— 

8 

Patriot 

...    — ~    •"■" 

20 

Fame     

True  Patriot    ... 

...    —•    — - 

22 

Antelope 

...   — 

— 

— 

Nancy    

...  —    — 

Hector 

— 

— 

Spots  wood 

— 

Several  of  the  privateers  were  very  successful  in  the  early 
months  of  the  war.  The  owner  of  the  Fortune  (captured 
from  the  French)  boasted  that  she  had  brought  in  seventeen 

{)rizes  in  about  three  months.  Later  on,  the  number  of  Eng- 
ish  cruisers  was  so  great  that  few  French  ships  dared  put 
to  sea,  and  ruinous  losses  were  sustained  by  privateer  owners. 
The  marvel  is  that  crews  could  be  obtained  to  man  so  many 
vessels.  Many  privateersmen,  however,  were  rough  and 
lawless  youths  drawn  from  the  country  districts,  partly 
from  hope  of  gain  and  partly  from  love  of  a  reckless  and 
idle  life.  To  amuse  those  "gentleman  volunteers,"  the 
advertisements  for  hands  frequently  added  that  "  French 
horns,"  or  even  "  a  band  of  music,''  would  "  find  great  en- 
couragement." Whilst  on  shore  the  crews  were  a  terror  to 
the  citizens,  committing  many  outrages,  and  frequently 
rescuing  by  force  such  of  their  comrades  as  were  arrested. 

In  June,  1756,  John  Pitman  and  Son,  "  proprietors  of  the 
Bristol  (new  erected)  Lead  Smelting  Works,"  announced 
that  they  had  begun  operations,  and  solicited  support. 
Their  factory  was  situated  on  the  Somerset  side  of  the  Avon, 
near  to  the  Hot  Well,  and  the  clouds  of  poisonous  smoke 
issuing  from  the  furnaces  proved  highly  offensive  to  fashion- 
able visitors.  The  nuisance  was  long  submitted  to  in 
silence,  but  in  1761  a  complaint  was  raised  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  by  Dr.  D.  W.  Linden,  a  metropolitan  physi- 
cian, who  followed  his  patients  to  Clifton  every  summer 
(and  who  is  scurrilously  caricatured  by  Smollett  m  "  Hum- 
phrey Clinker  ").  Dr.  Linden  asserted  that  the  Well  was 
"  not  only  the  second  medicinal  spring  in  Britain,  but  in  all 
Europe,"  and  expressed  astonishment  that  the  "  necessary 
improvements  to  the  place  should  have  been  so  much  neg- 
lected." As  no  further  reference  to  the  subject  has  been 
found,  the  works  were  probably  discontinued. 

In  the  summer  of  1766  the  vestry  of  St.  Mary  Rec'c'iff 
purchased  of  William  Hogarth  three  large  scriptural  paint- 
ings, representing  Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Samaria,  the 
Sealing  of   the   Tomb,   and  the   Resurrection.     Hogarth's 


i 


322  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1756. 

receipt  for  the  stipulated  price,  "  £625,  in  full  of  all  de- 
mands,^' is  dated  the  14th  August,  and  is  in  the  archives  of 
the  church.  Nearly  £25C)  more  were  spent  on  frames  and  in 
placing  the  pictures  (under  the  personal  direction  of  the 
artist)  upon  the  altar  screen  of  the  church,  where  they  re- 
mained until  1857.  Hogarth's  true  excellence — his  intense 
reaHsm — was  of  no  service  to  him  in  work  of  a  hi<2:her  char- 
acter ;  and  the  above  paintings,  now  in  the  Fine  Arts 
Academy,  merel}^  sei've  to  prove  his  impotence  in  idealistic 
conception,  his  lack  of  a  sense  of  beauty,  and  his  poverty  as 
a  col  our  is  t. 

The  ferocity  of  the  impressment  sj^stem  may  be  imagined 
from  an  incident  that  occurred  in  Kiugroad  on  the  10th 
September.  The  Bristol  ship  Virginia  Merchant,  which 
had  arrived  from  the  West  Indies  on  the  previous  day,  was 
boarded  by  a  naval  tender,  the  commander  of  which  in- 
tended to  impress  the  crew  ;  but  as  the  men,  who  had  been 
about  a  twelvemonth  from  home,  made  a  firm  resistance, 
the  tender  opened  fire  upon  the  ship.  One  man  was  killed 
and  several  others  wounded,  while  the  ship  was  so  much 
damac:ed  that,  after  *'  firing  several  guns  of  distress,"  she 
sank  in  the  sigLt  of  the  spectators.  The  timid  newspapers 
shrank  from  recording  the  fate  of  the  crew. 

Bristolians,  in  common  with  the  nation  at  large,  were 
flung  into  transports  of  indignation  by  the  alleged  cowardice 
of  Admiral  Byng  in  retreating  from  Minorca.  Felix  Farleifn 
Journal  of  September  4th  says: — **0n  Monday  last  the 
efiBgy  of  a  (now)  high-spirited  admiral  was  carried  through 
most  of  the  streets  of  the  cit}^  accompanied  by  three  gentle- 
men-dealers in  soot ;  after  which  he  was  hung  upon  a 
gallows  on  St.  Philip's  Plain,  and  under  it  was  made  a  large 
bonfire,  which  entirely  consumed  it  in  the  sight  of  a  num- 
ber of  spectators."  Party  spirit,  perhaps,  inspired  many  of 
the  popular  manifestations.  Letters  or  Dr.  Tucker  in  the 
Newcastle  MSS.  show  that  the  local  Tories,  at  a  very  late 
hour  one  evening,  announced  a  meeting  next  day  to  address 
the  King  in  condemnation  of  the  Government ;  whereupon 
Tucker  got  some  printers  out  of  their  beds,  and  issued  another 
placard,  advising  the  meeting  to  promise  hearty  support  to 
the  King  against  the  common  enemy.  His  tactics  threw 
the  opposite  party  into  confusion;  the  meeting  was  not  held; 
and  although  the  "  red-hot "  Tories  sent  about  an  address, 
soliciting  signatures,  Mr.  Smith,  M.P.,  waited  upon  the 
bishop  "  to  purge  himself  from  having  had  any  hand  "  in 
the   manoeuvre.      The  Duke  of  Newcastle   complained  to 


175G.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTUllT.  323 

Nugent  of  the  apathy  of  the  Whigs,  when  the  member  for- 
warded one  of  Tucker's  missives  stating  that  a  corporate 
address  had  been  drawn  up,  but  that  **  this  is  the  Assizes 
and  Feasting  time :  all  business  is  at  a  stand  till  that  im- 
portant affair  is  over."  Nugent  is  not  complimentary  to 
his  supporters.  "  Their  mouths,"  he  writes  to  the  Duke, 
"  are  full  of  Turtle,  and  if  you  come  in  for  the  second  place 
it  is  as  much  as  I  can  hope  for  you.  Their  address  will,  I 
dare  flatter  myself,  partake  of  their  diet,  for  Turtle  is  wont 
to  inspire  warm,  kind  and  vigorous  sensations.  ...  Is 
not  Tucker  a  fine  fellow  ?  He  deserves  a  Bishopric."  (He 
was  appointed  a  prebendary  of  Bristol  a  few  weeks  later, 
and  dean  of  Gloucester  in  1768.)  Eventually  two  addresses, 
expressing  confidence  in  the  Government,  were  forwarded — 
one  from  the  Corporation,  and  the  other  from  the  citizens, 
the  latter  being  signed  by  "  great  property  and  numbers." 
(Many  letters  on  the  subject  from  local  magnates  are  in  the 
British  Museum.) 

The  copper  coinage  was  at  this  period  in  a  state  of  ex- 
treme degradation.  A  large  portion  of  the  halfpence  having 
been  worn  entirely  smooth,  some  unprincipled  people  at 
Birmingham  issued  an  enormous  quantity  of  '*  blanks," 
worth  less  than  a  fourth  of  their  nominal  value,  and  equally 
knavish  persons  purchased  the  false  coin  wholesale  at  a 
trifling  price  and  foisted  it  upon  workmen  in  payment  of 
wages.  Emanuel  Collins  mentions  in  his  "  Miscellanies " 
another  difficulty  in  relation  to  the  coinage.  He  heard,  he 
says,  the  Bristol  bellman  proclaiming  that  as  many  scrupu- 
lous people  refused  to  accept  the  half-pence  of  William  III., 
the  public  were  to  understand  that  they  could  take  or  leave 
them  at  their  discretion.  "  Ungrateful  city,  are  these  your 
Revolution  principles  ?  But  ye  are  the  sons  of  barter :  your 
principles  are  interest,  and  interest  is  your  principle."  He 
adds  that  a  Scotch  agent  was  offering  to  buy  up  the  half- 
pence at  the  rate  of  six  a  penny.  "  And  I  just  now  heard 
that  some  of  our  shopkeepers  that  are  of  the  kirk  will  admit 
them  again  on  one-fourth  of  their  dignity  curtailed  ;  so  that 
for  a  commodity  which  you  may  purchase  for  a  shilling,  you 
must  pay  in  those  plain  halfpence  sixteen  pence."  The  cor- 
porate rents  of  the  market  stands  fell  off  largely  from  this 
cause.  The  loss  in  September,  17B6,  was  £12  2s,  7  id.,  while 
in  the  month  ending  19th  March,  17B7,  out  of  a  receipt  of 
£138,  the  loss  from  "  plain  halfpence  "  was  £19  lis,  4d. 

The  harvest  of  17B6  was  greatly  deficient,  and  owing  to 
the  war  the  imports  of  grain  were  scanty.     The  price  of 


324  THE   ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1756-57. 

wheat  consequently  rose  to  80^.  per  quarter,  causing  dire 
distress.  In  November  the  Corporation  oflfered  two  bounties 
of  £B0  each  to  the  two  first  grain  cargoes  imported,  and  four 
of  £25  each  to  the  next  arrivals.  £200  were  also  granted  for 
relieving  poor  householders.  Mr.  Nugent,  M.P.,  purchased 
a  cargo  of  660  quarters  of  foreign  wheat,  which  was  to  have 
been  distributed  to  the  distressed  at  half-price,  but  the  ship 
was  unluckily  captured  by  the  French.  Another  vessel, 
laden  with  corn,  was  stopped  and  plundered  by  a  mob  on 
her  passage  down  the  Severn.  The  prosecution  of  the 
rioters  cost  the  Chamber  £123.  During  the  winter  many 
hundreds  of  families  were  dependent  for  food  upon  the 
relief  committees  established  by  their  wealthier  neighbours. 
In  January,  1767,  the  Corporation  petitioned  Parliament, 
representing  that  the  barges  coming  down  the  Severn  and 
Wye  with  food  for  Bristol  were  sj^stematically  plundered  by 
the  country  people,  and  praying  for  the  admission  of  foreign 
com  duty  free,  a  suggestion  which  was  adopted.  In  the 
following  year,  owing  to  the  continuance  of  the  dearth,  an 
Act  was  passed  permitting  the  importation  for  a  short  period 
of  butter,  pork,  and  salted  beef  from  Ireland,  and  a  subse- 
quent statute  allowed  Irish  cattle  to  enter  English  ports  for 
a  term  of  five  years  only.  These  unwonted  concessions  gave 
much  offence  to  English  landlords. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  December,  1766,  it  was 
ordered  that  an  apartment  in  the  vestry  room  (the  Poyntz 
Chantry)  of  the  Mayor's  Chapel  should  be  fitted  up  as  a 
receptacle  for  such  corporate  records  and  papers  as  it  might 
be  thought  proper  to  remove  there.  Iron  doors  were  soon 
afterwards  affixed  to  two  recesses,  but  the  projected  removal 
of  documents  never  took  place. 

During  a  panic  created  by  the  preparations  of  Trance  to 
invade  this  country  with  a  large  army,  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment was  passed  in  1767,  for  raising  a  militia  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  country.  The  number  of  men  to  be  furnished 
by  Gloucestershire  and  Bristol  was  960  out  of  a  total  of 
32,000.  The  local  force  was  exceeded  only  by  those  of 
Devonshire,  Lincolnshire,  Middlesex,  and  the  West  Riding 
of  York. 

A  brief  notice  of  the  fashionable  method  of  locomotion  at 
this  time  occurs  in  a  local  newspaper  of  Januarj',  1767, 
"  Louthian  and  Lavendar,  chairmen,"  announced  that  they 
had  "  two  commodious  Sedan  Chairs  and  one  Boot  Chair, 
with  able  men,"  which  stood  for  custom  in  Queen  Square 
and  College  Green.     The  "  boot  chair,"  having  a  projection 


1757.]  IN   TQE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  325 

in  front,  was  brought  into  popularity  by,  and  possibly  in- 
vented for,  the  great  War  Minister,  Pitt,  who  was  a  chronic 
sufferer  from  gout. 

The  road  from  the  city  to  Pill  at  this  period  was  a  mere 
horse  track,  traversing  an  extensive  common  from  Rownham 
to  Leigh.  In  March,  1757,  the  Common  Council  voted  20 
guineas  '^towards  making  a  road  over  Leigh  Down."  Traffic 
by  wheeled  vehicles  between  Bristol  and  the  neighbouring 
villages  was  then  almost  unknown.  Mr.  Tyson  had  a  con- 
versation in  December,  1826,  with  a  resident  at  Clevedon, 
78  years  of  age,  and  recorded  on  his  informant's  authority 
that,  when  the  latter  was  young,  not  more  than  four  carts 
went  from  Clevedon  to  Bristol  in  the  course  of  a  year;  almost 
everything  being  carried  by  pack-horses. 

The  protection  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  was  supposed  to 
have  been  obtained  for  the  High  Cross  when  it  was  re- 
erected  in  College  Green  (p.  186).  The  capitular  body, 
however,  was  apathetic  about  everything  save  its  pecuniary 
interests.  The  Green  was  neglected  for  many  years,  and 
fell  at  last  into  so  discreditable  a  condition  that  in  December, 
1756,  the  neighbouring  inhabitants  memorialised  the  Cor- 
poration, praying  for  assistance  in  restoring  the  turf  and 
walks,  and  forty  guineas  were  voted  for  that  purpose. 
Shamed  into  action,  the  chapter  thereupon  doled  out  15 
guineas,  which  Mr.  Wallis,  the  builder,  was  ordered  to  make 
the  best  of.  In  April,  1767,  the  chapter,  in  the  absence  of 
the  dean,  approved  of  what  had  been  done.  "  And  as  the 
said  Mr.  Wallis  has  offered  a  plan  for  removing  the  Cross 
and  cutting  off  a  small  part  of  the  Green,"  his  proposal  was 
sanctioned,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  dean.  Dean 
Chamberlayne,  however,  systematically  disapproved  of  the 
suggestions  of  the  prebendaries,  and  the  scheme  of  destruc- 
tion was  temporarily  abandoned.  Another  quarrel  amongst 
the  cathedral  dignitaries  broke  out  immediately  afterwards. 
The  outlay  of  the  chapter  having  exceeded  the  ordinary 
receipts  for  two  or  three  years,  a  debt  of  £250  had  accumu- 
lated, which  the  prebendaries  proposed  to  wipe  off  by  means 
of  the  next  good  fine  received  on  the  renewal  of  a  lease. 
The  dean  having,  of  course,  refused  his  sanction,  the  chapter 
resolved  that,  if  he  persisted  in  his  resistance,  all  further  re- 
newals should  be  postponed.  Three  months  later,  in  July,  the 
dean  having  condescended  to  visit  the  city,  he  was  urged 
to  accede,  but  replied  that  "  it  would  take  a  long  time  to 
consider  the  proposal,  namely,  till  next  winter."  He  gave 
way,  however,  in  September,  a  few  days  before  his  death. 


/ 


326  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1757. 

The  scandalous  system  of  shipping  off  convicted  felons  in 
company  with  honest  emigrants  was  still  practised  in  1767. 
The  InteUigeJicer  of  May  7th  contains  an  advertisement  in- 
viting artisans,  husbandmen,  and  boys  to  take  their  passage 
to  Maryland  as  "  indentured  servants  "  in  the  ship  Frisby  ; 
and  a  paragraph  in  the  same  paper  states  that  forty  convicts 
had  just  been  sent  on  board  the  vessel  in  question,  which  was 
a  **  letter  of  marque."  The  Council  had  paid  the  keeper  of 
Newgate  £107  28.  in  the  previous  year  for  transporting 
thirty-four  convicts,  indicating  a  remarkable  prevalence  of 
crime.  Referring  to  the  transportation  system,  a  historian 
of  Jamaica,  writing  about  1770,  stated  that  above  2,000 
abandoned  felons  were  shipped  yearly  from  England  to 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  were  '*  as  useful  as  scavengers 
to  a  dirty  town." 

Felix  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  the  11th  June  contains  the 
following  paragraph  : — "  We  hear  that  the  churchwardens 
of  a  considerable  parish  in  this  city  intend  (conformable  to 
the  obligations  of  their  oath)  to  put  the  laws  in  force  against 
all  those  within  the  said  parish  who  commonly  absent  them- 
selves from  the  publick  worship  on  the  Lord^s  Day ;  and 
also  against  common  swearers,  drunkards,  &c.,  and  its  hoped 
and  much  to  be  wished  that  an  example  of  this  kind  will  be 
followed  by  all  others  who  are  well-wishers  to  the  country." 
The  fine  imposable  on  every  adult  p3rson  who  systematically 
neglected  to  attend  his  or  her  parish  church  was  £20  a 
month,  and  Is.  for  each  casual  default.  No  attempt,  how- 
ever, seems  to  have  been  made  to  put  the  law  in  operation. 

In  August,  1767,  the  Rev.  John  Castelman,  vicar  of  St. 
Nicholas,  revived  a  long-standing  dispute  between  the  in- 
cumbents of  that  parish  and  its  select  vestry.  It  appears 
from  a  letter  addressed  by  Dean  Towgood  to  the  vestry 
shortly  before  his  death,  in  1682,  that  when  he  was  insti- 
tuted to  St.  Nicholas,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  he  took 
possession  of  a  house  which  from  time  immemorial  had  been 
used  as  a  vicarage.  He  was,  however,  immediately  deprived 
of  it,  and  it  was  only  after  several  years'  entreaty  that  he 
obtained  from  the  vestry  a  yearly  compensation  of  £4,  which 
was  lost  during  the  Commonwealth.  At  the  Restoration  he 
remained  at  his  living  at  Tortworth  until  the  vestry  made  a 
promise,  apparently  verbal,  that  he  should  be  allowed  £14 
for  house  rent.  When  he  came  back  to  Bristol  this  promise 
was  repudiated,  and  the  dean  concluded  his  letter  by  asking 
the  vestry  to  consider  whether  he  had  not  just  cause  to  com- 
plain of  hard  dealing  and  wrong.     The  old  vicarage  house 


1757.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  327 

was  in  the  Rackhay,  a  part  of  which  was  converted  into  a 
burial  ground  in  1G98,  and  a  furtlier  portion  was  consecrated 
to  the  same  purpose  in  1743.  In  consequence  of  the  altera- 
tions made  at  those  periods  the  vicarage  could  no  longer  be 
identified.  Mr.  Castelman  having  found  a  copy  of  Dean 
Towgood's  letter  in  the  cathedral  archives,  now  renewed  the 
claim  of  his  predecessor.  He  admitted  that  the  old  house 
could  not  be  found,  but  suggested  that  he  should  l^  com- 
pensated by  a  money  payment  of  not  less  than  £400,  in 
which  case  he  *'  would  scorn  to  claim  arrears."  (The  fixed 
income  of  the  vicar,  arising  from  bequests  for  sermons,  was 
under  £16.)  The  vestry  appears  to  have  treated  his  appli- 
cation with  contemptuous  silence,  and  the  copies  of  the 
above  letters  inserted  in  the  minute  book  were  ordered  to  be 
expunged. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  on  the  Bth  September,  orders 
were  given  for  the  construction  of  a  new  bridge  over  the 
Froom,  in  order  to  open  a  direct  route  from  Christmas  Street 
to  Lewin's  Mead.  St.  John's  Bridge,  as  it  was  called,  was 
of  great  convenience  to  the  numerous  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration who  attended  Lewin's  Mead  Chapel. 

At  the  same  meeting  it  was  **  Ordered  that  Moses  Cone," 
possibly  a  phonetical  spelling  of  Cohen,  **  who  keeps  a  shop, 
with  glass  windows  before  the  same,  on  the  Key,  and  there- 
in sells  gold  and  silver  ware  without  being  a  free  burgess,  be 
prosecuted  for  the  same."  The  fact  that  the  Jew  had 
placed  glass  windows  in  his  shop  front  seems  to  have  been 
considered  by  the  conservative-minded  Chamber  as  an 
aggravation  of  his  oflFence.  About  four  months  later  a  local 
journal  records  that,  on  the  previous  Monday,  "  in  the  dusk, 
most  of  a  loaf  of  sugar,  a  cheese,  and  a  lar^  knob  of  salt 
were  taken  out  of  the  window  of  a  shop  in  Baldwin  Street, 
and  carry'd  oflF."  Southey  states  that  his  father  came  to 
Bristol  about  1760,  and  was  apprenticed  to  Mr.  William 
Britton,  the  leading  linendraper,  who  had  an  open- windowed 
shop  in  Wine  Street. 

The  oratorio  of  "  Samson  "  was  performed  in  the  Cathedral 
on  the  7th  September,  by  a  "  large  band  of  the  best  vocal 
and  instrumental  performers."  The  price  of  admission  was 
5s.  **  The  Messiah "  was  given  in  1768  and  1759,  after 
which  the  performances,  which  were  for  the  benefit  of  the 
families  of  poor  clergymen,  were  discontinued. 

The  once  celebrated  William  Warburton,  D.D.,  was  pre- 
ferred by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to  the  deanery  of  Bristol  in 
October,  1767.     The  Newcastle  MSS.  show  that  if  Warbur- 


328  THE    ANNJLLS    OF    BRISTOL  [1757. 

ton  did  not  sooner  reach  high  rank  in  the  Church  the  delay- 
was  not  attributable  to  his  diffidence.  So  early  as  1725  he 
is  found  "  presuming  to  acquaint  your  grace  of  the  dan- 
gerous illness  '*  of  a  well-beneficed  clergyman,  and  hinting 
his  hopes  that  the  living  he  had  already  obtained  from  the 
duke  might  be  the  shoeing-horn  to  another.  In  1727  he 
declines  an  offered  incumbency,  presses  his  suit  "  for  a 
living  of  better  value,"  and  regrets  that  while  every  district 
abounded  with  marks  of  his  grace's  goodness,  "  I  should  be 
the  only  one  amongst  your  most  devoted  servants  in  which 
they  do  not  appear."  Incessant  importunity  and  flattery 
were  rewarded  by  many  gifts,  and  his  luckj^  marriage  with 
a  niece  of  Ralph  Allen,  of  Bath,  placed  Warburton  on  the 
road  to  the  prizes  of  his  profession.  A  curious  incident 
occurred  at  his  first  visit  to  Bristol  Cathedral,  when  he  had 
to  ^'  read  himself  in."  According  to  the  rubric,  the  Atha- 
nasian  Creed  should  have  formed  part  of  the  sei-vice  of  the 
day,  but  it  was  omitted  by  an  oversight ;  and  upon  protest 
being  made  by  some  person  present,  Warburton  ordered  the 
creed  to  be  sung  on  the  following  Sunday  (when  it  ought 
not  to  have  been  performed),  and  read  himself  in  a  second 
time.  As  both  services  were  irregular,  it  has  been  doubted 
whether  Warburton  was  ever  legally  dean  of  Bristol.  Little 
more  than  two  years  afterwards,  through  Allen's  influence, 
Mr.  Pitt,  then  M.P.  for  Bath,  procured  Warburton's  pro- 
motion to  the  bishopric  of  Grloucester,  and  though  the 
arrogant  cleric  had  previously  contemned  the  spiritual  lords 
as  a  "  wooden  bench,"  he  eagerly  took  his  place  amongst 
them.  Bishop  Newton  records  that  while  Warburton  was  at 
Bristol  **  Mr.  Allen  laid  out  a  good  deal  of  money  in  repair- 
ing and  refronting  the  deanery,  and  had  not  quite  completed 
it  when  the  dean  was  made  bishop.  However,  such  was 
Allen's  generosity  that  he  was  willing  to  finish  what  he  had 
begun,  but  inquired  first  who  was  likely  to  succeed  to  the 
deanery.  It  was  supposed  to  lie  between  Dr.  (Samuel) 
Squire  and  Dr.  Tucker  (rector  of  St.  Stephen's),  and  Mr. 
Allen  asked  the  bishop  (Warburton)  what  sort  of  men  they 
were ;  and  the  bishop  answered  in  his  lively  manner  that 
the  one  (Squire)  made  religion  his  trade,  and  the  other  trade, 
his  religion.  Dr.  Squire  succeeded  to  the  deanery  of  Bristol, 
where  Mr.  Allen  completed  his  intended  alterations."  The 
writer  goes  on  to  defend  Tucker  from  Warburton's  malice, 
observing  that  while  he  wrote  upon  commercial  topics  *^  with 
more  knowledge  than  any  clergyman,  and  with  as  much, 
perhaps,  as  any  merchant,"  he  also  ably  handled  subjects 


1757.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTL'RY.  329 

pertaining  to  his  profession.  "  He  was  an  exemplary  parish 
priest  and  an  exemplary  dean  .  .  .  but  it  is  to  be  lamented 
that  he  had  not  the  respect  for  [  Warburton]  which  was  due  to 
his  personal  character."  The  truth  probably  is  that  Tucker 
held  the  bishop's  literary  and  theological  works  in  the  con- 
tempt they  deserved,  and  made  no  effort  to  disguise  his  scorn 
for  their  self-seeking  author.  As  to  Squire,  one  of  War- 
burton's  letters  contains  the  following : — "  Have  you  seen 
the  Dean  of  Bristol's  (the  quondam  Clerk  of  the  Closet's) 
sermon  at  St.  Margaret's?  He  has  fairly  canonised  our 
gracious  sovereign  by  the  name  of  George  the  Good."  The 
courtly  sycophant  (who  had  already  gained  the  king's  favour 
by  some  act  of  peculiar  baseness  towards  his  patron,  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle)  was  promptly  rewarded,  George  III. 
conferring  upon  him  the  bishopric  of  St.  David's  in  1761. 

Felix  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  October  29th,  1767,  published 
an  announcement  that  the  parish  church  of  St.  Werburgh 
had  become  so  ruinous  as  to  render  it  unsafe  for  public 
worship,  and  that  the  parishioners  had  resolved  to  take  it 
down.  Being  unable  of  themselves  to  bear  the  charge  of 
reconstruction,  contributions  were  solicited  from  the  charit- 
able. In  the  following  April,  a  "  brief"  was  obtained  for 
the  collection  of  subscriptions  throughout  the  kingdom,  and 
in  December,  1769,  the  Corporation  voted  £200  towards  the 
works  (raising  the  money  by  a  loan).  The  most  important 
alteration  was  the  removal  of  the  east  end  of  the  cnancel, 
which  projected  so  far  into  Small  Street  as  to  render  carriage 
traffic  dangerous.  An  altar-piece  in  the  Corinthian  style 
was  introduced  into  the  church,  which  was  re-opened  for 
service  in  February,  1761.  The  ancient  edifice  had  been 
crowded  with  monuments,  but  it  was  not  until  1766,  when  a 
subscription  was  started  for  the  purpose,  that  some  of  those 
memorials  were  sought  for  and  replaced.  On  the  1st  March, 
1766,  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  recorded  that  "  the  real  monu- 
mental stone  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Thome,  founder  of  the  Gram- 
mar School,  and  a  liberal  benefactor  of  this  city,"  had  just 
been  recovered  and  re-erected.  "  It  was  to  have  been  put 
up  to  adorn  a  gentleman's  Gothic  stable  in  the  neighbour- 
hood." From  numerous  fragments  embedded  in  the  walls 
of  *^  Black  Castle,"  Mr.  Reeve,  who  was  an  industrious 
picker-up  of  medieval  trifles,  must  have  retained  the  rest  of 
his  gleanings  from  St.  Werburgh's. 

Tiie  price  of  French  wine  advanced  considerably  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war.  Owing  to  the  numerous  captures  of  mer- 
chantmen, however,  the  supply  soon  exceeded  the  demand. 


330  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1757. 

The  Intelligencer  of  November  26th,  1757,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing : — *'To  be  sold  ;  a  large  quantity  of  prize  wines,  taken 
by  the  Lyon,  Caesar,  Phoenix,  and  Tygress  privateers.  Any 
person  wishing  to  purchase  any  quantity  not  less  than  10 
hogsheads  may  pick  any  of  it  at  45,9.  per  hogshead  '' — less 
than  1^.  per  gallon ! 

An  amusing  style  of  announcing  marriages  was  in  favour 
about  the  middle  of  the  century,  and  several  good  examples 
occur  in  the  local  journals  of  1757.  The  following  are  speci- 
mens : — February  3,  "  Was  married  Mr.  Thomas  Linford,  an 
eminent  cabinet  maker  in  Redcliff  Street,  to  Miss  Cook,  of 
Pipe  Lane,  an  agreeable  young  lady,  with  a  handsome  for- 
tune.'' May  31,  "  Was  married  at  Warminster,  Mr.  Henry 
Davis,  in  partnership  with  Mr.  John  Hooper,  linen-draper  in 
St.  Maryleport  Street,  to  Miss  Hart,  daughter  of  Richard 
Hart,  Esq.,  late  of  Hanham ;  a  young  lady  endowed  w^ith  a 
plentiful  fortune  and  every  other  qualification  to  render  the 
married  state  at  once  happy  and  engaging."  June  23,  "Was 
married,  at  St.  Werburgh's,  Dr.  Archibald  Drummond  to 
Miss  Parsons,  of  Rudgeway,  a  young  lady  with  a  fortune  of 
£30,000."  In  July,  Mr.  Deane  Bayly,  of  Wine  Street, 
married  "  a  young  lady  of  plentiful  fortune  and  every  other 
engaging  accomplishment."  September  1,  "  Was  married 
John  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Long  Ashton  (eldest  son  of  Jarrit 
Smith,  M.P.),  to  Miss  Woolner,  of  this  city,  a  handsome  lady 
with  £40,000  fortune,  and  endowed  with  every  other  desir- 
able quality  that  may  render  the  married  state  compleatly 
happy."  December  17,  "  This  week  was  married,  Mr.  Jack- 
son, of  Bath,  to  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Elisha  Hellier,  an 
eminent  sope  boiler  in  Redcliff  Street,  a  lady  of  command- 
ing beauty  and  £5000  fortune."  It  is  perhaps  significant 
that  in  some  notices,  where  the  writer  is  silent  as  to  the 
fortune  of  the  brides,  he  is  eloquent  on  their  beauty  and 
accomplishments ;  while  in  others  he  is  reserved  about  the 
ladies'  charms,  but  is  emphatic  about  their  money.  On  one 
occasion,  when  a  spinster  of  63  summers  was  led  to  the 
altar,  the  adroit  chronicler  recorded  that  she  brought  her 
husband  "  her  weight  in  gold,  and  a  comfortable  landed  es- 
tate, also  with  composed  and  prudent  abilities  that  excel  any 
fortune."  Another  marriage  (May,  1761)  of  the  same  char- 
acter was  that  of  "John  Durbin,  jun.,  Esq.,  to  Miss  Drax, 
sister  to  the  Countess  of  Berkeley — a  laily  with  a  fortune  of 
£10,000,"  but  whose  age  is  politely  concealed.  Nothing  is 
generally  said  about  the  wealth  or  character  of  the  husband. 
The  following  is  exceptional : — June  14, 1761 ,  "  Was  married 


1757-58.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  331 

at  St.  George's,  the  facetious  Mr.  Young,  of  Landogo,  to  the 
agreeable  Mrs.  Williams,  late  of  Screws  Hole,  with  a  fortune 
of  £10,000.'*  Now  and  then  the  hymeneal  announcement 
smells  a  little  of  the  shop.  April  19,  17B6,  "  Was  married 
at  Bedminster,  Samuel  Baker,  Esq.,  of  Whitchurch,  to  Mrs. 
Hannah  Bullock,  sister  to  Mr.  Thomas  Broackes,  who  has 
lately  contracted  partnership  with  Mr.  Bush,  an  eminent  silk 
mercer  in  Wine  Street."  February  12,  1784,  "  Married,  at 
the  new  Church  (St.  George's),  Mr.  William  Fripp,  son  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Fripp,  partners  with  an  eminent  soapmakers' 
company  of  this  city,  to  Miss  Martha  Catley,  niece  of  the 
two  Miss  James's,  formerly  milliners  in  Wine  Street,  an 
agreeable  young  lady,  with  a  fortune  of  £3,000." 

A  Bill  for  the  extension  of  local  turnpikes  having  been 
brought  into  the  House  of  Commons  in  17B8,  some  of  the  turn- 
pike trustees  petitioned  for  the  inclusion  in  the  measure  of 
two  more  highways,  namely,  the  road  through  Stoke  Bishop 
to  Shirehampton,  and  the  road  to  Aust  (the  Welsh  mail 
route),  which  "  was  up  a  very  steep  hill  (Steep  Street)  going 
out  of  Bristol."  To  avoid  the  latter  difficulty,  the  petitioners 
suggested  that  a  new  turnpike  road  should  be  made  from 
Frog  Lane  "  through  certain  grounds  (the  site  of  Park 
Street)  to  a  gate  on  the  Aust  road  called  the  White  Lady's 
Gate."  Clauses  carrying  out  these  proposals  were  intro- 
duced into  the  Bill,  which  became  law.  It  was  not  until 
October,  1761,  however,  that  the  trustees  resolved  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  Whiteladies  improvement.  The  Shirehampton 
turnpike  opened  out  that  district  to  the  fashionable  throng 
at  the  Hot  Well,  and  excursions  to  Kingsweston  inn  and 
Penpole  Hill  became  popular.  For  the  accommodation  of 
visitors  to  the  latter,  a  building  called  the  Breakfasting 
Room  was  erected,  the  patrons  of  which  were  permitted  to 
ramble  in  the  shrubberi.es  of  Kingsweston  House. 

The  local  journals  of  March  11th,  1758,  contain  the  fol- 
lowing announcement : — **  At  No.  6  in  Trinity  Street,  near 
the  College  Green.  On  Monday  after  Easter  will  be  opened 
a  School  for  Young  Ladies  by  Mary  More  and  Sisters,  where 
will  be  carefully  taught  French,  Reading,  Writing,  Arith- 
metic, and  Needlework.  Young  Ladies  boarded  on  reason- 
able terms."  A  few  weeks  later  an  additional  line  appears: 
— **  A  Dancing  Master  will  properly  attend."  A  few  little 
boys  were  admitted  as  day  pupils.  Hannah  More  was  at 
this  date  under  thirteen  years  of  age,  which  disposes  of  the 
statement  of  some  historians  that  she  was  the  foundress  of 
the  school.     The  institution,  was  prosperous  from  the  outset. 


332  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1758. 

and  when  Park  Street  was  laid  out,  one  of  the  first  houses 
erected  was  the  property  of  the  Misses  More,  who  removed 
the  school  there  about  1762. 

The  achievements  of  the  Bristol  privateers  were  frequently 
the  occasion  of  popular  rejoicing.  Early  in  April,  1768,  a 
clever  feat  was  reported  of  the  Phoenix,  of  16  guns  and  90 
men,  which  carried  into  Dartmouth  the  French  privateer 
Bellona,  of  20  heavier  guns  and  120  men.  The  Phoenix  had 
come  within  hail  of  the  Frenchman  about  midnight,  and  so 
terrified  him  by  assuming  the  name  of  the  King's  ship  Tartar 
(the  terror  of  French  privateers)  that  he  immediately  sur- 
rendered. A  more  gallant  action  was  accomplished  three 
weeks  later  by  the  Bristol  privateer  Bellona,  of  16  guns. 
Her  captain,  Richards,  ran  the  ship  into  St.  Martin's,  near 
Rochelle,  and  cut  from  their  moorings  fourteen  French 
vessels,  two  of  which,  of  100  tons  each,  laden  with  wine, 
were  brought  safely  to  Galway.  This  daring  act,  says  the 
London  Chronicle^  was  done  at  noonday,  and  within  gunshot 
of  7  French  men  of  war  and  4  frigates.  It  is  needless  to  sav 
that  the  contrast  between  the  conduct  of  the  English  and  the 
French  Bellona  was  the  source  of  exultation  in  Bristol.  In 
October  a  brilliant  deed  was  reported  on  the  part  of  the  local 
ship,  Duke  of  Cornwall,  Capt.  Jenkins.  The  King's  ship 
Winchelsea  had  been  captured  by  a  French  man  of  war, 
which  placed  a  crew  on  board,  with  directions  to  sail  for 
France.  On  the  voyage  the  Duke  of  Cornwall  engaged  the 
Winchelsea  and  succeeded  in  re-taking  the  ship.  This 
achievement  was  crowned  in  November  by  the  capture  of 
the  French  man  of  war  Belliqueux,  the  vessel  supposed  to 
have  caught  the  Winchelsea.  On  the  21st  October  a  des- 
patch arrived  in  Bristol  stating  that  a  foreign  ship  of  64 
guns  was  lying  off  Lundy  Island,  having  been  driven  there 
by  stress  of  weather.  Captain  Saumarez,  of  H.M.S.  Ante- 
lope, of  60  guns,  lying  in  Kingroad,  was  that  evening  at  a 
ball  at  the  Hotwells.  The  news  being  reported  to  him,  he 
repaired  on  board,  accompanied  by  several  volunteers,  and 
beat  down  Channel.  On  reaching  the  foreigner  she  showed 
signs  of  resistance,  but  soon  struck  her  colours,  and  was 
towed  up  to  Kingroad.  The  Belliqueux  had  470  men  on 
board,  60  of  whom  were  sick,  and  the  rest  suffering  from 
want  of  provisions.  During  the  same  week  Bristol  privateers 
brought  eight  French  naerchantmen  to  Kingroad,  some  of 
the  prizes  being  of  great  value.  The  Merchants'  Society 
presented  Captain  Saumarez  with  100  guineas. 

Paper-hangings  for   rooms    were   an    expensive    luxury 


1758.]  IN    THE    KIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  333 

during  the  first  half  of  the  century.  In  one  of  the  Countess 
of  Hertford's  letters,  written  in  1741,  it  is  stated  that 
superior  paper-hangings  then  cost  from  12^.  to  13«.  a  yard. 
The  Bristol  Intelligencer  of  April  16th,  1768,  contains  an  an- 
nouncement of  the  sale  of  a  house  in  Queen  Square,  "  with 
the  paper-hangings  thereto  aflfixed.'' 

An  enterprising  Bath  innkeeper  started,  in  May,  a  "  new 
machine,  on  steel  springs,"  for  the  accommodation  of 
travellers  to  and  from  Bristol.  Each  journey  occupied  three 
hours,  and  the  fare  was  half  a  crown. 

The  original  proposal  for  laying  out  what  was  to  be  sub- 
sequently called  Park  Street  was  recorded  at  page  227. 
After  a  sleep  of  18  years,  the  project  was  again  brought  be- 
fore the  Common  Council  in  July,  1 768,  its  promoters.  Alder- 
man Day  and  George  Tyndale,  seeking  approval  of  an  ex- 
tended design.  They  now  proposed,  on  condition  of  being 
granted  a  fresh  lease,  to  lay  out  a  road  jfrom  the  top  of  the 
new  street  to  Whiteladies'  Gate,  where  it  would  join  the 
turnpike  road  leading  from  the  city  vid  St.  Michael's  Hill, 
and  thus  afford  a  new  and  better  route  for  the  Welsh  mail 
and  other  vehicles  proceeding  to  Aust.  The  Chamber 
granted  a  renewed  lease,  but  required  the  lessees  to  keep 
the  intended  new  street  in  repair.  The  Act  authorising  the 
Whiteladies'  extension  has  been  already  mentioned.  It  was 
not  until  February,  1761,  that  builders  were  invited  to  apply 
for  sites  in  Park  Street. 

A  modest  equestrian  entertainment — the  first  of  its  kind 
recorded— took  place  on  the  17th  July  on  Durdham  Down. 
'*  The  famous  Thomas  Johnson  "  rode  two  horses  at  full  speed 
round  the  race-course  with  a  foot  on  each  of  their  backs,  and 
afterwards  rode  100  yards  standing  on  his  head,  and  300 
yards  more  standing  on  one  leg.  The  public  "  encouraged 
this  extraordinary  undertaking  "  so  liberally  that  it  was  re- 
peated two  days  afterwards.  To  add  to  the  enjoyment  on 
the  second  occasion,  a  "  game  pig  "  with  a  greased  tail  was 
let  off  to  be  hunted  by  the  populace,  and  afforded  so  much 
sport  that  it  reached  Westbury  before  it  was  caught,  the 
efforts  of  a  howling  crowd  of  Bristolians  being  ultimately 
defeated  by  a  nimble  youth  of  the  village.  Probably  in  con- 
sequence of  this  disappointment  a  "  free  fight "  followed  on 
the  Down,  "  in  which  several  persons  were  much  hurt." 

Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  July  27th  announces  the  sale  by 
auction  of  "  the  large  commodious  public-house  known  by 
the  sign  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  at  Bedminster,  in  the 
occupation  of  the  Reverend  Emanuel  Collins ;  let  at  £20  per 


334  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1758. 

annum."  As  has  been  already  stated,  Collins  is  reported  to 
have  made  a  shameless  living  by  celebrating  irregular  mar- 
riages at  his  public-house.  The  Act  rendering  such  unions 
illegal  passed  in  17B3,  and  his  abandonment  of  the  tavern 
soon  after  lends  support  to  the  tradition.  In  1762  Collins, 
who  (falsely)  styled  himself  M.A.,  of  Oxford,  published  some 
poetical  efTusions  under  the  title  of  **  Miscellanies,"  in  which 
the  depravity  of  his  mind  is  only  too  clearly  revealed. 

Giles  Earle,  Esq.,  son  of  a  once  influential  Bristolian,  Sir 
Thomas  Earle,  died  at  his  seat  near  Malmesbury  on  the  20th 
August,  1758,  in  his  80th  j^ear.  Mr.  Earle  devoted  himself 
in  early  life  to  politics,  and  after  holding  various  inferior 
offices,  was  appointed  a  lord  of  the  Treasury' in  1737.  He  is 
often  referred  to  in  Horace  Walpole's  letters,  and  appears  to 
have  been  famous  for  a  wit  which  was  coarse  even  for  that 
age. 

The  Common  Council,  in  September,  granted  the  renewal, 
for  fourteen  years,  to  Thomas  Tyndall,  of  the  lease  of  a  house 
in  the  Royal  Fort,  on  payment  of  a  fine  of  £60,  and  a  yearly 
rent  of  £6.  In  May,  1762,  the  Corporation  conveyed  the  fee 
simple  of  the  property  to  the  lessee  for  £670.  Mr.  Tyndall, 
in  August,  1763,  had  purchased  of  a  lessee  of  the  dean  and 
chapter  an  interest  in  plots  of  land  called  "  Cantock's  Closes," 
and  the  lessors  granted  him  fresh  leases  of  the  estate,  in 
consideration  of  a  fine  of  £58.  Having  acquired  several 
other  adjoining  fields,  Mr.  Tyndall  demolished  the  house  in 
the  Fort,  and  set  about  the  construction  of  an  imposing 
mansion,  and  the  laying  out  of  the  meadows  into  a  park, 
which  received  the  name  of  its  owner.  His  improvements 
excited  admiration.  In  a  poetical  contribution,  published 
in  Feli^  Parleys  Journal  of  June  27th,  1767,  a  writer 
says : — 

Lons  in  neglect,  an  ancient  dwening  stood, 
Witn  tottering  walls,  worn  roofs,  and  perish'd  wood, 
'Till  genVous  Tynd-1,  fir'd  with  sense  and  taste, 
Svw  here  confusion —ruin  there— and  waste, 
Besolved  at  once  to  take  the  rubbish  down, 
And  raise  a  palace  there  to  grace  the  town. 

Owing  to  the  constant  increase  of  population  and  the 
growth  of  trade,  the  difficulty  of  communication  between 
the  districts  north  and  south  of  the  Avon,  through  the  ex- 
treme narrowness  of  Bristol  Bridge,  had  been  long  painfully 
felt.  Accidents  to  passengers  being  of  frequent  occurrence, 
memorials  urging  the  necessity  of  a  new  bridge  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Common  Council  from  time  to  time ;  but  the 
expense  of  an  improvement  involving  the  demolition  of  some 


1758.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURT.  335 

thirty  houses  standing  on  the  old  structure  long  paralysed 
the  Chamber.  At  a  meeting  on  the  28th  October,  1758, 
however,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the  best 
means  of  providing  funds  for  the  improvement ;  and  this 
body  invited  plans  and  suggestions.  After  prolonged  de- 
liberation the  committee  prepared  a  Bill,  taking  powers  to 
remove  the  houses  on  the  bridge  and  to  widen  the  roadway ; 
and  the  scheme  was  laid  before  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
held  in  the  Guildhall  in  February,  1751).  Much  difference 
of  opinion  having  been  elicited,  a  committee  of  twenty-four 
citizens,  chosen  out  of  the  several  wards,  was  formed  to 
confer  on  the  details  with  the  corporate  officials.  The 
remainder  of  the  year  was  spent  in  fruitless  debates,  and  in 
December  another  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall, 
when  it  was  resolved  that  the  approaches  to  the  bridge 
should  be  enlarged,  that  a  temporary  bridge  should  be 
erected  adjoining  the  old  one  pending  its  reconstruction,  and 
that  a  new  bridge  of  one  arch  should  be  thrown  "  from 
Temple  side  to  the  opposite  shore."  The  Council,  still 
desirous  of  improving  the  old  structure,  accepted  the  citizens' 
suggestions  as  to  the  subsidiary  bridges,  and  proposed  that 
the  cost  of  the  improvements  should  oe  defrayed  by  a  duty 
on  coal,  a  rate  on  houses,  a  wharfage  charge  on  imports  and 
exports,  and  a  toll  for  five  years  on  the  temporary  and 
reconstructed  bridges.  The  citizens'  committee  protested 
against  the  wharfage  tax,  and  as  the  Council,  offended  at 
the  opposition,  refused  to  proceed  with  the  scheme,  a  private 
Bill  was  presented  to  Parliament  empowering  its  promoters 
to  carry  out  the  works.  This  brought  the  Corporation  to 
terms,  and  another  Bill  was  framed  giving  powers  to  con- 
struct a  temporary  bridge,  and  also  a  permanent  bridge  in 
a  line  with  Temple  Street,  on  the  completion  of  which  the 
old  bridge  was  to  be  taken  down  and  reouilt.  The  measure 
also  included  powers  for  the  removal  of  St.  Nicholas's  Gate 
and  of  the  south  side  of  the  Shambles  (the  site  of  what  is 
now  Bridge  Street).  The  citizens  submitted  to  the  wharfage 
duty,  and  the  Corporation  withdrew  the  proposed  tax  on 
coal ;  the  rate  on  houses  was  fixed  at  6rf.  in  the  pound,  and 
the  bridge  tolls  were  to  continue  until  the  cost  of  the  im- 
provements was  discharged.  An  Act  of  Parliament  having 
been  obtained  (at  a  cost  to  the  Corporation  of  £396),  the 
construction  of  the  temporary  bridge  was  begun,  and  it  was 
sufficiently  advanced  to  permit  the  members  of  the  Glou- 
cestershire Society  to  make  use  of  it  for  their  annual  feast- 
day  procession  on  the  Brd  September,  1761.     The  designs 


83G  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1758. 

proposed  for  the  new  Bristol  Bridge  were  the  subject  of 
protracted  debates  amongst  the  trustees  appointed  by  the 
Act,  who,  like  the  citizens,  were  divided  into  two  camps, 
one  party  urging  that  the  river  should  be  spanned  by  a 
single  arch,  while  the  economists  contended  that  the  old 
piers  should  be  again  made  available.  No  less  than  seventy- 
six  meetings  were  held  by  the  trustees,  who  were  bombarded 
by  angry  pamphlets  and  letters  in  the  newspapers,  emanat- 
ing from  rival  architects,  their  supporters,  and  miscellaneous 
critics.  The  controversy  raged  for  two  j-ears.  At  length, 
in  November,  1763,  it  was  resolved  by  a  large  majority  to 
build  a  bridge  of  three  arches  on  the  old  piers,  according 
to  the  design  of  Mr.  James  Bridges.  The  foundation  stone 
was  laid  on  the  28th  March,  1764.  The  bridge  was  opened 
for  foot  passengers  in  September,  1768,  and  on  Michaelmas 
Day  the  retiring  mayor  was  the  first  to  traverse  it  in  a 
carriage.  The  opening  for  general  traffic  took  place  in 
November. 

A  singular  business  was  carried  on  at  this  period  by  a 
midwife  living  in  Maudlin  Lane,  who  announced  that  she 
conveyed  or  sent  children  every  Wednesday  to  the  Found- 
ling Hospital  in  London,  her  charge  to  parents  desirous  of 
ridding  themselves  of  their  offspring  being  2^  guineas  for 
each  child,  or  four  guineas  for  a  couple.  As  the  advertise- 
ment was  repeated  for  some  months,  the  woman  seems  to 
have  found  the  traffic  profitable. 

At  the  swearing-in  of  the  Master  of  the  Barbers'  Company, 
says  a  journal  of  November  18th,  1768,  "  the  mayor  was 
pleased  to  take  notice  to  them  of  the  scandalous  practice  of 
shaving  on  the  Lord's  Day,  desiring  the  same  might  be 
suppressed."  The  barbers  were  accordingly  warned  that 
infractions  of  the  law  would  be  punished.  Several  convic- 
tions were  subsequently  recorded. 

Mary  Darby,  styled  by  some  admirers  the  English  Sappho, 
was  bom  in  the  Minster  House,  adjoining  the  Cathedral, 
on  the  27th  November.  Her  father  was  a  local  merchant, 
who  ruined  himself  a  few  years  later  by  a  whale  fishery 
scheme,  when  his  daughter  was  removed  from  the  Misses 
More's  school  in  Park  Street,  and  the  family  left  Bristol  for 
London.  While  in  her  sixteenth  year  Mary  Darby  was 
married  to  a  worthless  attorney  named  Robinson,  who  soon 
abandoned  her,  and  the  girl-wife,  who  was  possessed  of 
remarkable  personal  charms,  adopted  the  stage  as  a  pro- 
fession, and  at  once  became  celebrated  as  an  actress.  In 
1780,  whilst  playing  the  character  of  Perdita,  she  captivated 


1759.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTUKY.  337 

the  fickle  heart  of  George,  Prince  of  Wales,  then  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  and,  having  listened  to  his  proposals,  she 
was  forthwith  provided  with  a  splendid  establishment.  The 
connection,  however,  was  a  short  one.  In  August,  1781, 
George  III.  having  learnt  that  the  actress  was  in  possession 
of  many  compromising  love-letters,  employed  an  agent  to 
secui'e  them  for  the  sum  of  £5,000,  which  was  insufficient 
to  discharge  the  lady's  debts.  The  king  was  not  aware  that 
his  son  had  also  given  her,  on  her  consenting  to  quit  the 
stage  for  his  gratification,  a  bond  for  £20,0(X) ;  but  this  she 
surrendered  to  Mr.  Fox  on  being  promised  an  annuity  of 
£500.  She  subsequently  formed  a  connection  with  one 
Colonel  Tarleton,  whose  rapacity,  aided  by  her  own  extrava- 
gance, reduced  her  to  penury.  She  also  lost  the  use  of  her 
limbs  through  travelling  during  a  wintry  night  to  rescue 
Tarleton  from  a  debtors'  prison.  In  1788  she  betook  herself 
to  literature,  and  eventually  published  about  twenty  novels 
and  books  of  poems,  several  of  the  latter  being  characterised 
by  taste  and  feeling.  In  despite  of  her  exertions,  Mrs.  Robin- 
son sank  in  her  later  days  into  destitution,  her  appeals  to 
her  princely  seducer  being  treated  with  characteristic  cal- 
lousness. She  had,  however,  some  devoted  admirers,  amongst 
whom  were  Coleridge,  Dr.  Walcott,  and  Sir  R.  K.  Porter. 
The  unhappy  woman  died  at  Englefield  Green  on  the  26th 
December,  1800. 

The  ibllowing  advertisement  appeared  in  Felix  Farley's 
Journal  of  March  31st,  1759 : — **  To  be  sold,  a  handsome 
dwelling  house  and  garden,  with  a  brickyard,  situate  in  the 
parish  of  St.  Philip  and  Jacob.  The  Jews'  Burial  Ground 
and  some  buildings  are  in  the  said  yard." 

The  impressment  of  sailors  for  the  navy  brought  about 
many  desperate  conflicts  between  the  press-gangs  and  their 
victims.  A  local  newspai)er  of  the  12th  May  rejwrts  that 
upon  information  being  received  that  a  number  of  privateers- 
men  were  concealed  in  a  public-house  at  Long  Ashton,  a 
press-gang  was  sent  otF  to  capture  them ;  but  the  sailors 
made  a  successful  resistance,  and  mortally  wounded  the 
leader  of  the  gang.  On  the  following  day  a  public-house  in 
Marsh  Street,  in  which  were  five  of  the  piivateersmen,  was 
surrounded  by  the  impressment  officers,  when  the  sailors 
mounted  upon  the  roof  and  exchanged  several  volleys  with 
their  assailants,  in  one  of  which  the  landlady  was  shot  in 
the  neck  by  one  of  the  press-gang.  The  privateersmen  at 
last  killed  one  of  their  own  partAr,  when  the  rest  surrendered. 
The   probable   consequences  of  such  conflicts   to  ordinary 

z 


/ 


838  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1759. 

wayfarers  is  left  to  the  reader's  imagination.  A  more  des- 
perate conflict  took  place  at  Cardiff'  in  September,  between 
about  seventy  of  the  crew  of  the  Eagle  privateer,  of  Bris- 
tol, and  an  impressment  party  who  had  surrounded  the 
house  in  which  the  sailors  were  quartered.  The  latter 
drew  up  in  battle  array,  their  war-cry  being  "  Liberty : " 
and  after  a  sharp  fire  on  both  sides  the  press-gang  retreat- 
ed, and  would  have  suffered  severely  but  for  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  magistrates.  One  man  was  killed  and  several 
wounded. 

Whilst  the  crews  of  the  privateers  were  threatened  with 
life-long  servitude  on  board  the  fleet,  the  owners  of  those 
vessels  were  menaced  with  ruinous  actions  at  law  for  over- 
stepping their  rights.  In  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  MSS.  is 
a  letter,  dated  May  22nd,  1759,  addressed  to  Mr.  Nugent, 
M.P.,  by  John  Noble,  Robert  Gordon,  and  other  eminent 
Bristol  merchants,  soliciting  the  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment, *'  in  our  deplorable  case  of  the  Dutch  captures.''  A 
petition  drawn  up  for  presentation  to  Parliament  accom- 
panied the  letter.  The  petitioners  alleged  that  at  an  expense 
of  £300,000  they  had  equipped  and  sent  out  a  great  number 
of  privateers,  which  had  been  instrumental  in  preserving 
the  commerce  of  the  country  and  in  annoying  the  enemy. 
Many  French  privateers  had  been  captured,  as  well  as  ships 
laden  with  provisions,  ammunition,  and  goods  for  the  enemy  ; 
and  more  would  have  been  caught  but  for  the  wiliness  of 
the  French  in  shipping  their  foreign  imports  in  neutral 
bottoms.  The  petitioners,  encouraged  by  the  declaration 
of  the  king  that  he  would  not  suffer  French  trade  to  be 
carried  on  under  other  flags,  had  seized  vessels  under  Dutch 
and  other  colours  trading  with  the  French  colonies  ;  and 
such  vessels  had  been  duly  condemned,  with  the  eff'ect  of 
causing  the  petitioners  to  send  out  more  privateers  at  great 
expense,  by  which  many  more  neutral  ships  had  been  cap- 
tured. If  such  prizes  were  to  be  delivered  up,  as  was  de- 
manded by  the  neutral  Governments,  many  of  the  petitioners, 
"  who  have  adventured  all  or  a  large  part  of  their  property 
on  the  faith  of  the  king's  declaration,  if  not  totally  ruined, 
will  be  greatly  injured,  and  many  thousand  brave  seamen, 
whose  sole  dependence  is  upon  their  prize  money,  will  be 
reduced  to  the  utmost  distress."  The  matter  nearl}^  occa- 
sioned a  war  with  Holland.  Eventually  one  ship  was  given 
up  to  the  Dutch,  and  owners  of  privateers  were  ordered  to 
be  more  careful  in  their  treatment  of  neutrals.  Bristol ians, 
however,  had  had  enough  of  privateering,  and,  indeed,  the 


1759.]  »   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTTJBY.  339 

French  mercantile  marine  had  be^i  swept  off  the  ocean. 
Fdix  Farley's  Journal  of  June  9th  says : — "  Of  fifty-six 
privateers  fitted  out  at  this  port,  there  is  at  this  time  but 
a  single  one  remainii;ig  at  sea." 

On  the  16th  October  John  Wesley  inspected  the  French 
prisoners  of  war  confined  at  Knowle.  He  wrote  in  his 
Journal : — "  About  1100  of  them  were  confined  in  that  little 
place  without  anything  to  lie  upon  but  a  little  dirty  straw, 
or  anything  to  cover  them  but  a  few  foul  thin  rags,  either 
by  day  or  night,  so  that  they  died  like  rotten  sheep."  After 
making  this  private  memorandum,  it  is  amazing  to  find 
Wesley  writing  to  Felix  Farley\H  Journal^  a  few  days  later, 
to  contradict  the  common  rejx)rt  that  the  prisoners  were 
*•  dying  in  whole  shoals."  He  declared  that  he  had  seen  no 
sweeter  or  cleaner  prison  in  England,  and  that  even  during 
a  sickly  season  there  were  not  thirty  dangerously  ill  out  of 
1,K)0  or  1/200.  He  admitted,  however,  that  many  of  the 
captives  were  almost  naked,  and  commended  their  wants  to 
public  charity.  Subsequently,  having  collected  £24,  he  sent 
in  a  supply  of  shirts  and  stockings.  A  subscription  was 
entered  into  by  the  citizens,  by  which  £313  were  raised,  and 
as  the  Corporation  provided  the  prison  with  mattresses  and 
blankets,  Wesley  had  the  satisfaction  of  recording  that  the 
prisoners  "  were  pretty  well  provided  with  all  the  necessaries 
of  life/'  The  captives  had  increased  to  about  1,800  at  the 
peace  in  1763. 

The  announcement  of  the  capture  of  Quebec  was  received 
in  Bristol  on  the  18th  October  with  transports  of  enthusiasm. 
In  the  evening  the  city  and  the  shipping  in  the  harbour 
burst  into  a  general  illumination,  "  every  person,"  says  the 
imaginative  newspaper  chronicler,  dazzled  by  the  glare  of 
tallow  candles  and  oil,  "  seeming  to  vie  with  his  neighbour 
liow  much  they  could  exceed  each  other  in  making  night 
itself  as  bright  as  midday.  .  .  .  The  cloud-capt  towers  of 
St.  James,  St.  Stephen,  &c.,  were  illuminated,  and  their 
tops  to  the  distant  eye  appeared  as  if  crown'd  with  stars." 
On  the  invitation  of  the  mayor,  the  influential  citizens 
assembled  at  the  Council  House,  where  bumpers  were  drunk 
in  honour  of  the  victors,  amidst  volleys  from  the  military 
drawn  up  in  front  of  the  building,  and  salutes  from  the 
cannon  on  the  Grove.  The  French  had  threatened  a  descent 
on  England  by  means  of  a  vast  flotilla  of  flat-bottomed 
boats,  but  the  dread  of  invasion  was  forgotten  in  the  general 
rejoicing,  and  the  peril  had,  in  fact,  passed  away.  Another 
public  celebration  of  a  similar  character  took  place  on  the 


340  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1759-60. 

8tli  October,  1760,  on  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the  sur- 
render of  Montreal. 

In  an  advertisement  dated  the  27th  October,  1769,  the 
Bristol  turnpike  trustees  made  the  following  generous  pro- 
posal:— ''Notice  is  hereby  given  that  any  Persons  willing 
to  take  off  the  Dirt  from  any  Part  of  the  Turnpike  Roads 
leading  from  the  City  of  Bristol  may  do  it  at  their  own 
Expense  between  this  and  the  2nd  Februar}'^  next."  The 
advertisement  was  repeated  in  subsequent  3^ears. 

Resuming  an  ancient  practice,  the  corporate  body  at- 
tended service  at  the  Cathedral  on  the  anniversary  of 
Gunpowder  Plot.  Feli^  Farley^ s  Journal  thereupon  con- 
gratulated the  city  ou  ''  the  pleasing  prospect  of  future 
peace''  between  the  Council  and  the  dean  and  chapter,  who 
had  been  "unhappily  divided  for  many  years  past." 

Mr.  Nugent,  M.P.,  having  been  appointed  a  Vice  Trea- 
surer of  Ireland,  his  seat  became  vacant  in  December,  when 
he  was  forthwith  re-elected.  No  opposition  having  been 
offered,  Mr.  Nugent  "  generously  gave  £50C)  to  be  disposed 
of  as  the  citizens  should  think  proper ; "  and  the  money  was 
handed  over  to  the  fund  for  rebuilding  the  Bridge. 

Thanks  to  the  extraordinary  successes  of  the  English 
arms  in  India,  America,  and  Germany,  the  two  leading 
Ministers,  Mr.  Pitt  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  were  pelted 
in  1760  with  gold  boxes  by  the  civic  corporations.  The 
Common  Council  of  Bristol  was  naturally  one  of  the  first  to 
take  action.  On  the  10th  January  the  Chamber  resolved 
that  the  freedom  of  the  city  should  be  presented  in  ^old 
boxes  to  the  Duke  and  his  colleague  "  in  the  most  respoctful 
manner."  Two  elegantly  chased  caskets  were  accordingly 
obtained  at  a  cost  of  £113.  (One  of  the  above  boxes,  offered 
for  sale  in  1890,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Charles 
Wathen.) 

By  a  fire  on  the  IGth  March,  1760,  in  a  house  in  Charles 
Street,  "  part  of  the  new  buildings  in  the  parish  of  St. 
James,"  a  respected  schoolmaster,  named  Jones,  was  burnt 
to  death,  in  company  with  his  wife.  The  disaster  was 
attributed  to  the  negligence  of  the  city  watchmen,  and 
some  doggrel  lines  in  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  expressed  the 
feeling  of  the  inhabitants  : — 

The  Watch  bum  Tobacco  while  Houses  are  burning, 
And  the  Glass^  not  the  Watch,  goes  its  rounds. 

A  burning  shame  this  and  sad  subject  of  mourning, 
That  our  Guard's  such  a  mute  Pack  of  Hounds. 

The  same  journal  of  July  11th,   1761,  reporting  an^at- 


1760.]  IN  THE    KIGHTBBNTH   CENTURY.  341 

tempted  burglary,  said,  **  The  mistress  of  the  house  alarmed 
the  watch,  who  came  near  enough  to  see  them  run  away, 
but  being  an  old  decrepit  man  could  not  follow  them/^ 

"  The  noted  Mr.  Slack,'^  a  Bristol  butcher,  had  a  pugi- 
listic encounter  on  the  2nd  June,  1760,  at  St.  James's  t(»nnis 
court  in  London,  with  "  William  Stephens,  the  nailer." 
The  odds  were  6  to  1  upon  Slack,  but  he  was  defeated  in 
four  minutes.  Many  noblemen  were  present,  and  upwards 
of  £10,00(J  changed  hands.  A  still  more  exciting  battle 
was  fought  at  the  same  place  in  March,  1761,  between 
*'  the  nailer "  and  George  Magg»,  of  Pensford.  "  There 
were  assembled,"  says  the  Bristol  Chronicle^  "  the  greatest 
concourse  of  nobility,  gentry,  &c.,  ever  known  on  a  like 
occasion."  The  prices  of  admission  were  10«.  6rf.  and  6«. 
Three  to  one  were  betted  upon  "the  nailer,"  owing  to  his 
former  victory,  but  Maggs  defeated  his  adversary  in  17 J 
minutes.  "A  certain  Royal  Personage  [the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land] was  present  and  won  large  sums.  'Tis  said  upwards 
of  £50,U()0  depended  on  the  issue."  The  London  Evening 
Post  adds : — "  The  Bristol  people,  it  is  supposed,  have  carried 
away  above  £IOXKXJ,  and  are  so  elate  with  their  success  that 
they  otier  to  back  their  champion  for  ICKX)  guineas  against 
any  man  in  the  world." 

In  consequence  of  the  narrowness  of  the  roadway  through 
the  city  gate  near  Needless  Bridge,  by  which  the  traffic 
from  the  Stone  Bridge  to  Broadmead  was  much  impeded, 
the  Council,  in  August,  176(.),  ordered  the  demolition  of  the 
gate  and  the  widening  of  the  thoroughfare. 

Owing  to  the  pressure  of  his  judicial  duties  and  advanc- 
ing years,  Sir  Michael  Foster  tendered  his  resignation  of 
the  recorclership  to  the  Council  on  the  23rd  August.  The 
Chamber,  however,  begged  that  he  would  retain  his  office, 
and  he  temporarily  complied.  He  refused  his  fee  for  the 
gaol  delivery  in  1762 ;  but  the  Corporation  presented  him 
with  a  piece  of  plate.  On  his  final  resignation,  in  February, 
1768,  a  second  gift  of  plat«  was  forwarded  in  appreciation 
of  his  services.  His  successor  was  the  Hon.  Daines  Barring- 
ton,  a  grandson  of  Sir  William  Daines,  and  a  distinguished 
antiquary.  Sir  Michael  Foster  died  November  7th,  1763, 
and  was  buried  at  Stanton  Drew.  Blackstone  and  other 
eminent  judges,  as  well  as  Horace  Walpole,  have  referred 
to  his  distinguished  learning,  integrity  and  independence, 
a!id  Churchill  not^d  the  general  impression  as  to  his  char- 
acter : — 

Each  judge  was  true,  and  steady  to  his  trust, 
As  Mansfield  wis(3,  and  as  old  Foster  just. 


342  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1760. 

The  military  glory  surrounding  the  closing  years  of  the 
reign  of  George  II.  evoked  a  feehng  of  respect  for  that 
monarch  which  had  been  previously  lacking,  and  his  death 
excited  some  popular  regret.  A  poet,  whose  genius  shone 
in  the  Bristol  Chronicle^  burst  out  as  follows : — 

Hark !  hark !  the  Bells,  ^ow  solemnly  they  rings 
The  Funeral  Knell  of  George,  the  Best  of  Kings ! 

The  accession  of  George  III.  was  proclaimed  on  the  30th 
October,  17G0,  on  the  site  of  the  High  Cross  and  the  other 
usual  places,  with  the  customary  formalities.  A  hundred 
private  coaches  took  part  in  the  procession.  Festivities 
followed  in  the  evening,  but  the  total  outlay  was  only  £129. 
The  marriage  and  coronation  of  the  young  king  in  the 
following  year  were  celebrated  with  greater  parade.  In 
the  coronation  procession  of  the  trading  fraternities — many 
of  which  displayed  their  waning  numbers  for  the  last  time 
— the  Smiths'  Company  was  preceded  by  a  man  in  armour ; 
but  the  most  interesting  object  was  a  stage  drawn  by  four 
horses,  whereon  were  printers  engaged  in  working  off  an 
appropriate  poetical  efiusion,  copies  of  which  were  scattered 
amongst  the  spectators.  Such  an  exhibition  of  the  printing- 
press,  according  to  Felix  Farley's  Journal^  had  never  been 
made  before  in  England.  Following  the  trade  companies 
were  the  boys  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital  "  with  their 
hair  powdered."  During  the  service  at  the  Cathedral  two 
coronation  anthems  were  sung,  "  French  horns,  fiddles, 
drums,  &c.,  playing  with  the  organ."  Subsequently  a 
quantity  of  beer  was  distributed,  and  many  families  wore 
provided  with  dinner,  an  ox  having  been  roasted  whole  at 
Temple  Meads  for  that  purpose.  In  the  evening  a  painted 
transparency,  brilliantly  illuminated,  73  feet  high  and  of 
proportional  breadth,  retained  vast  crowds  in  Queen  Square 
until  3  o*clock  in  the  morning ;  whilst  pyrotechnic  displays 
took  place  on  the  tower  of  St.  John's  Church  and  at  Law- 
ford's  Gate.  Amongst  the  items  of  civic  expense,  which 
exceeded  £400,  were — A  ball  in  Merchants'  Hall,  £119; 
fireworks,  £46;  music,  £24;  wine,  £21;  gunpowder,  £27; 
the  transparency  (painted  by  an  able  local  artist  named 
Simmons),  £40;  and  "expenses  on  account  of  a  champion," 
£10. 

A  gallant  action  between  the  Constantino  privateer  of 
Bristol  and  a  French  privateer  called  the  Victoire  took 
place  on  the  23rd  November,  1760.  Captain  Forsyth  was 
attacked  by  the  enemy,  which  he  had  taken  for  an  English 
man  of  war ;  and  the  French  rushed  upon  the  Constan tine's 


iHTSSNTH    CENTDBY. 


343 

\vs.  "  But  my 
-  P^i^ii>h  lion8, 
ni  li';<i'l,  lliough 
"Sagr;ment,  tte 
.St:;<\  a\\  Sftil  in 
enabled  him  to 
We  made  great 

lilt    nf    liis    SCUp- 

;i.  \\iis  [i^Tfectly 

I    lL;l.i     l>llt   two 

)u  a;i  tii.'y  were 

d'^    won    against 

y  IH  flinr-poimd 

luuaders 


listriots  of  the 
iwly  ilevelopeil. 
e  families  who 
jjutliem  slope  of 
''A  cori'fS[)OQ(lent 
,t3  that 
the  pleasaiitest 
lown,  delightful 
experience  the 
The  writer 
fonclndeii  liy  lioprng  lliat  tiie  threatent'd  devastation  would 
be  iivoided  by  the  purchase  of  the  ground  by  public  sub- 
scription. A  few  weeks  later  another,  or  perhaps  the  same, 
writer,  lamented  in  verse  the  degraded  condition  of  the  hill, 
obser\'iiig, — 

(^ch  petty  tradesinan  here  must  have  liia  soat, 
AiiJ  vainly  tliiiiks  tlm  heights  will  make  liim  great ; 
adding  that,  whatever  the  place  might  be  called  in  future, 


344  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1760-61. 

its  proper  title  was  Pedlars'  Hill.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
extension  of  the  new  suburb  was  highly  beneficial.  Sea-side 
resorts  being  still  neglected,  the  professional  and  mercantile 
class  living  in  the  close  streets  of  the  old  city  frequently 
sent  their  children  during  the  summer  holidays  to  Kings- 
down  for  a  change  of  air.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  note 
the  rental  of  various  houses  advertised  to  be  let  in  this  year. 
A  house  in  Broad  Street,  occupied  by  a  haberdasher,  £21 
house  in  High  Street,  £21 ;  house  on  the  Bridge,  £3() 
another,  £12;  two  houses  in  College  Green,  £21  and  £18 
house  and  warehouses,  Thomas  Street,  £13  8,s\ 

In  consequence  of  frequent  complaints  as  to  the  dilatori- 
ness  of  the  postal  service,  the  authorities  in  London  an- 
nounced in  1760  that  letters  or  packets  would  thenceforth 
be  dispatched  from  the  capital  to  the  chief  provincial  towns 
"  at  any  hour,  without  loss  of  time,"  at  certain  specified 
rates.  An  express  to  Bristol  cost  £2  Ss,  6d. ;  to  Plymouth, 
£4  8.S*.  9d,  Leeds,  Manchester,  Birmingham  and  Liverpool 
are  not  mentioned. 

The  earliest  recorded  Bristol  riding  school  was  opened  on 
the  2nd  February,  1761,  by  "  R.  C.  Carter,  riding  mast^:>r 
from  London."  The  school  was  held  in  an  extensive  build- 
ing called  the  Circular  Stables,  in  the  Backfields,  Stoke's 
Croft,  which  had  just  been  erected  on  the  tontine  principle 
by  95  citizens  contributing  £30  each,  it  being  agreed  that 
the  pioperty  should  be  divided  when  the  nominated  lives 
were  reduced  to  two. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  March,  1761,  when  the 
local  political  leaders  resolved  to  avoid  a  contest.  The 
BriMol  Chvonide  stated  that  the  Union  (Whig)  Society  mpt 
in  the  Guildhall  and  nominated  Robert  Nugent,  while  the 
Steadfast  (Tory)  Club  assembled  at  Merchants'  Hall  and 
nominated  Jarrit  Smith,  **  our  late  worthy  representatives, 
which  compromise  have  delivered  the  city  from  a  very 
oppressive  weight  it  used  to  labour  under  on  such  occasions.'' 
The  members  were  formally  elected  on  the  27th  March,  and 
"  carried  round  part  of  the  city  on  chairs.''  In  the  evening 
they  entertained  the  electors  of  each  parish.  Mr.  Smith 
was  created  a  baronet  in  1763,  and  subsequently  took  the 
name  of  Smyth. 

Evidence  as  to  the  low  price  of  animal  food  is  offered  by 
a  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  May,  1761,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  a  contractor  had  undertaken  to  provide  "good  beef" 
for  the  prisoners  of  war  confined  at  Knowle  at  the  rate  of 
13^.  lid.  per  cvvt. — less  than  IJcZ.  per  pound. 


1761.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  345 

Down  to  this  period  the  ancient  gateway  of  St.  Augus- 
tine's Abbey,  in  College  Green,  was  provided  with  gates, 
and  the  communication  between  the  upper  and  lower  greens 
was  under  the  control  of  the  dean  and  chapter.  Probably 
to  save  the  expense  of  a  porter,  the  capitular  body  resolved 
in  June,  1761,  that  the  gates  should  be  removed  ;  and  as 
no  steps  were  taken  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  the  chapter, 
the  thoroughfare  became  a  public  way.  In  the  following 
September  it  was  determined  that  the  service  held  at  7 
in  the  morning  should  be  suspended  from  November  1st  to 
March  31st.  Scandal  having  been  caused  by  the  manner  in 
which  some  of  the  members  shirked  their  duties,  it  was 
further  ordered  that  each  prebendary  should  be  mulcted 
£12  and  the  dean  £24  if  he  failed  to  be  in  residence  for  the 
stipulated  yearly  period.  This  regulation  was  of  no  effect. 
Complaint  being  also  made  that  "  numbers  of  loose  and 
disorderly  people  meet  to  go  in  the  church  cloisters  as  soon 
as  it  is  dark,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  neighbourhood," 
orders  were  given  to  close  the  cloisters'  gate. 

Philip  Yonge,  D.D.,  who  had  held  the  bishopric  for  three 
years,  was  translated  to  Norwich  in  August,  1761.  Nothing 
is  locally  recorded  of  this  prelate,  who  was  Master  of  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge,  prebendary  of  Westminster,  canon  of 
St.  Paul's,  and  rector  of  a  Hertfordshire  parish.  In  the  Cole 
MSS.,  however,  is  the  following  minute  of  a  conversation 
relating  to  ReJcliff  church,  held  in  1771,  between  Mr.  Cole 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lort.  "  Mr.  Lort  mentioned  that,  calling 
on  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  [Yonge],  and  talking  with  his 
lordship  on  the  great  qualifications  of  Mr.  Cannings,  his 
merits  to  the  town  of  Bristol  and  the  kingdom  in  general, 
the  bishop  made  answer  that  if  he  had  not  prevented  it, 
the  inhabitants  of  that  grateful  parish  had  thrown  out  the 
monument  of  its  so  worthy  benefactor."  Cole  adds : — 
*'  Bristol  may  be  a  good  trading  city,  and  skilled  in  those 
arts  that  will  at  last  end  in  the  destruction  of  this  and 
every  other  great  trading  and  luxurious  nation,  but  the 
virtues  of  gratitude,  decency,  and  generosity  I  think  their 
historian  will  be  much  difficulted  to  point  out  in  it." 

Dr.  Yonge  was  succeeded  in  Bristol  by  Thomas  Newton, 
D.D.,  prebendary  of  Westminster,  sub-almoner  and  pre- 
centor of  York,  and  rector  of  a  rich  London  parish.  A 
canonry  of  St.  Paul's  was  conferred  with  the  bishopric, 
when  the  other  preferments  were  resigned.  Dr.  Johnson's 
contemptuous  opinion  of  "  Tom,"  who  like  himself  was  the 
son  of  a  Lichfield  tradesman,  is  well  known.    But  if  Newton 


346  THE    ANNAXS   OP   BRISTOL  [1761. 

lacked  learning,  he  possessed  all  the  arts  by  which  adroit 
clergymen  attained  worldly  distinction.  No  speculator  ever 
watched  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  funds  with  more  anxious 
vigilance  than  Newton  displayed  in  noting  vacancies  in  and 
appointments  to  the  great  prizes  of  the  church.  The  MSS. 
of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  prove  his  indefatigable  activity  as 
a  suitor,  while  his  numerous  preferments  attest  the  success 
of  his  exertions.  In  September,  1757,  he  sends  off  a  hurried 
despatch  to  the  all-powerful  minister,  advising  him  that  one 
of  the  canonries  of  Windsor  had  jnst  become  vacant  by  the 
death  of  its  holder.  Writing  on  August  7th,  1761,  he  in- 
forms the  duke  that  the  archbishop  of  York  lies  in  a  dying 
state,  and  cannot  possibly  live  beyond  the  next  morning. 
"  Upon  this  occasion  of  two  vacancies,  I  beg,  I  hope,  I  trust 
your  grace's  kindness  and  goodness  will  be  shown  to  one 
who  has  long  solicited  your  favour."  The  duke  hastened  to 
reassure  him.  Replying  on  the  same  day  (before  the  arch- 
bishop was  dead),  the  minister  stated  that  he  had  recom- 
mended the  bishop  of  Salisbury  to  the  King  to  succeed  at 
York.  "  I  hope  you  will  fill  one  of  the  vacant  sees  if  there 
should  be  two,  and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  it."  Two 
days  later  Newton  writes  : — "  Sunday  morning,  10  o'clock. 
The  archbishop  of  York  is  just  now  dead.  My  particular 
thanks  are  due  to  your  grace  for  the  honour  of  your  letter." 
While  he  was  paying  assiduous  court  to  the  duke,  however, 
Newton  confesses  in  his  autobiography — an  amusing  picture 
of  the  author  and  his  times — that  he  was  ardentlj'^  suppli- 
cating the  patronage  of  Lord  Bute,  the  king's  favourite ; 
and  while  roundly  asserting  that  he  owed  his  bishopric  to 
the  personal  favour  of  George  III.,  he  loses  no  occasion  to 
vilipend  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  Newton's  elevation  to 
the  bench  did  not  slacken  his  courtship  of  the  powerful. 
He  was  offered  the  deanery  of  Westminster,  but  declined  it, 
he  says,  "having  something  better  in  view."  His  refusal  of 
the  Primacy  of  Ireland  was  due  to  the  same  cause — his 
anxiety  to  obtain  the  see  of  London,  which  according  to  his 
own  account  he  was  promised  on  two  successive  vacancies, 
but  which  the  King  conferred  on  other  competitors.  Un- 
successful in  securing  the  rich  bishopric  of  Ely  on  a  later 
occasion,  he  was  at  length,  in  1768,  gratified  with  the 
deanery  of  St.  Paul's,  then  much  better  endowed  than  many 
episcopates.  In  his  memoirs  Newton  states  that  the  office 
was  spontaneously  conferred  upon  him  by  the  King.  It  was 
really  gained  by  urgent  solicitation.  Warburton,  writing 
to  Hurd  while  the  place  was  still  vacant,  said : — "  I  wish 


1761.]  nr  thb  eighteenth  century.  347 

success  to  the  Bishop  of  Bristol,  though  he  played  the  fool 
in  the  attair  you  mention.  But  that  will  not  hinder  his 
exchanging  his  rectory  for  a  deanery."  Writing  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  in  October,  1768,  the  lucky  suitor  thanks 
his  grace  for  his  congratulations  on  this  windfall,  regarding 
his  esteem  ''  a  very  fK)nsiderable  addition  to  the  value  of  the 
preferment.''  During  the  earlier  part  of  his  long  tenure  of 
the  see  of  Bristol  (twenty-one  years),  Dr.  Newton  resided 
three,  and  sometimes  four  or  live,  months  yearly  at  the 
episcopal  palace,  though  he  states  that  the  income  of  the 
bishopric  was  little  more  than  £300,  and  never  exceeded 
£400.  ''  By  living  and  residing  there  so  much,"  he  wrote 
about  1781,  "  he  was  in  hopes  that  his  example  would  have 
induced  the  other  members  of  the  church  to  perform  also 
their  part,  and  to  discharge  at  least  their  statutable  duties. 
The  deanery  is  worth  at  least  £600  a  year,  and  each  prebend 
about  half  that  sum,  and  for  these  preferments  the  residence 
usually  required  is  three  months  for  the  dean  and  half  that 
time  for  each  prebendary.  But,  alas !  never  was  church 
more  shamel'ully  neglected.  The  bishop  has  several  times 
been  there  for  months  together,  without  seeing  the  face  of 
anything  better  than  a  minor  canon.  His  example  having 
no  kind  of  effect,  he  remonstrated  several  times,  ,  .  .  their 
want  of  residence  was  the  general  complaint  not  only  of  the 
city,  but  likewise  of  all  the  country.  .  .  .  But  the  bishop's 
remonstrances  had  no  better  effect  than  his  example,  and  to 
do  more  was  not  in  his  power.  .  .  .  While  the  deans  of 
Gloucester,  &c.,  were  beautifying  their  churches,  poor 
Bristol  lay  utterly  neglected,  like  a  disconsolate  widow." 
The  dean  of  this  period  (1763-80)  was  Cutts  Barton,  who 
followed  the  example  of  another  dignitary  referred  to  by 
the  bishop,  and  was  simply  in  residence  *^  the  better  part  of 
the  year  '■ — namely,  the  week  during  which  the  yearly 
revenues  were  divided. 

The  cruelty  of  the  penal  code  is  illustrated  by  the  fate  of 
John  Cope,  who  was  executed  at  St.  Michaers  Hill  on  the 
Gth  November,  1761.  Cope  had  been  tried  for  felony  in 
176<3,  when  he  was  sentenced  to  seven  years'  transportation. 
He  subsequently  succeeded  in  escaping  i'rom  Newgate,  in 
company  with  other  prisoners,  and  on  being  recaptured  he 
was  tried  at  the  next  assizes  for  the  capital  offence  of 
**  being  found  at  large  after  having  received  sentence  of 
transportation."  He  was  of  course  convicted,  and,  perhaps 
with  a  view  to  deter  others  from  attempting  evasion,  the 
extreme  sentence  of  the  law  was  carried  out. 


348  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1761. 

In  December,  1761,  mucli  excitement  was  caused  in  the 
city  by  reports  of  alleged  supernatural  disturbances  in  the 
household  of  Richard  Giles,  landlord  of  the  Lamb  inn,  near 
Lawford's  Gate,  who  had  just  started  certain  "  flying 
wagons "  to  London.  Two  of  Giles's  numerous  family, 
"  Molly  "  and  "  Dobby,"  aged  thirteen  and  eight,  were  sta- 
ted to  be  nightly  tormented  by  some  invisible  power,  which 
bit  them  on  the  neck  and  arms,  and  pricked  them  with 
pins ;  various  articles  of  furniture  being  at  the  same  time 
thrown  about  their  bedroom  by  incomprehensible  forces. 
Amongst  the  persons  desirous  oi  probing  the  mystery  was 
Mr.  Henry  Durbin,  a  prosperous  druggist  in  Redcliff  Street 
(uncle  of  Sir  John  Durbin),  whose  narrative  of  the  marvels 
must  be  briefly  summarised.  When  the  children  were 
together  in  bed,  Mr.  Durbin  was  shown  marks  of  bites 
and  scratchings  that  had  just  been  made  under  the  bed- 
clothes, and  was  at  a  loss  to  account  for  them  naturally ; 
though  he  notes  that  the  girls  were  never  tormented  when 
asleep.  He  also  saw  a  wine  glass  rise  perpendicularly  a  foot 
in  the  air,  and  fling  itself  with  a  loud  report  against  a  nurse 
five  feet  distant.  Then  Molly's  cap  flew  four  feet  oft'  her 
head,  and  something  beat  the  tattoo  on  the  bed-ticking  with 
the  skill  of  a  drummer.  During  the  biting  and  pricking 
Mr.  Durbin  and  others  thumped  the  bed  vigorously,  when 
something  squeaked  like  a  rat,  but  the  practices  continued. 
After  other  experiences  the  evil  spirit — for  Mr.  Durbin  was 
now  sure  it  was  a  spirit — condescended  to  reply  to  questions 
by  giving  as  many  knocks  as  the  interrogator  required  for 
an  affirmative  reply.  By  this  means  it  was  discovered,  as 
had  been  suspected,  that  the  spirit  was  instigated  by  an  old 
witch,  living  at  Mangotsfield,  who  had  been  paid  ten  guineas 
by  a  rival  carrier  to  bewitch  Mr.  Giles's  family  and  wagons. 
This  confession  was  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  one  of  Mr. 
Giles's  flying  wagons  had  suddenly  stuck  fast  in  the  road  at 
Hanham,  where  eighteen  horses  had  been  required  to  move 
it ;  while  another  wagon  had  a  trembling  fit  in  Giles's  own 
yard.  By  February  the  subject  had  become  the  talk  of  the 
city,  and  Mr.  Durbin  had  been  joined  in  his  numberless 
visits  to  the  inn  by  several  clergymen,  amongst  them  being 
the  Rev.  J.  Camplin,  precentor  of  the  Cathedral,  and  vicar 
of  St.  Nicholas,  the  Rev.  S.  Seyer,  head  master  of  the 
Grammar  School,  the  Rev.  R.  Symes,  of  St.  Werburgh's, 
the  Rev.  J.  Price,  of  Temple,  the  Rev.  —  Brown,  and  the 
Rev.  —  Shepherd.  It  was  now  thought  desirable  to  in- 
terrogate the  evil  spirit  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  and 


17G1.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  349 

Mr.  Durbin  asserts  that  it  answered  correctly  by  knocks  to 
all  the  questions  put  in  those  tongues.  What  was  still 
more  marvellous,  Mr.  Camplin  asked  several  questions 
mentally,  and  received  truthful  taps  in  reply.  Mr.  Symes, 
equally  convinced  that  the  agency  was  diabolical,  asked  in 
the  pulpit  for  the  prayers  of  his  parishioners  on  behalf  of 
the  tormented  children.  Another  believer  addressed  a  letter 
to  Felix  Farley's  Journal^  declaring  that  scofiers  of  witch- 
craft cast  a  slur  upon  the  Bible.  Soon  after,  the  children 
began  to  be  thrown  violently  out  of  bed,  and  Major  Drax,  a 
relative  of  the  Countess  of  Berkeley,  and  a  powerful  man, 
assured  Mr.  Durbin  that  his  strength,  together  with  that  of 
his  f(X)tman  and  coachman,  was  insufficient  to  prevent  the 
girls  Irom  being  thrown  upon  the  floor.  Indeed,  ^*  four  stout 
men  could  scarce  hold  one  child, ^'  who  was  borne  towards 
the  ceiling.  Pins  next  began  to  fly  about  the  room.  The 
major  marked  several  pins,  and  laid  them  in  a  distant 
corner,  but  they  were  forthwith  thrown  back  into  his  hand. 
The  gallant  officer  then  **carry^d  them  up  to  London  to 
Court,  and  shewed  them  to  several  noblemen  and  bishops^' 
— with  results  unrecorded.  Meanwhile  the  wagons  were  as 
much  persecuted  as  the  children,  one  vehicle  being  sixteen 
hours  in  making  its  way  from  the  Lamb  inn  to  Bath,  while 
another  had  its  iron  chain  twisted  into  knots;  but  Giles 
seems  to  have  had  a  shrewd  suspicion  that  the  evil  agency 
was  simply  the  trickery  of  his  servants.  The  children  were 
removed  to  the  houses  of  various  friends,  but  the  phenomena 
continued  so  long  as  they  remained  together,  while  there 
was  a  notable  diminution  of  the  marvels  when  they  were 
separated.  On  the  12th  May  Mr.  Giles  suddenly  became 
ill.  He  had  ridden  to  Bcith  in  a  gig,  but  on  returning 
home,  on  r<?aching  the  spot  where  his  wagons  were  usually 
*'  aflected,''  the  harness  broke,  and  he  saw  an  old  woman 
standing  by  the  wheel,  to  whom  he  had  not  the  courage  to 
speak.  He  died  on  the  IGth,  and  Mr.  Durbin  clearly  be- 
lieved (and  in  fact  the  demon  told  himj  that  the  carrier 
was  a  victim  to  witchcraft.  The  customary  disturbances 
at  the  Lamb  then  ceased  for  about  two  months  (the  eldest 
girl  had  been  sent  to  Swansea) ;  but  in  July  Dobby  began 
to  be  again  tormented,  and  at  the  following  fair  many  old 
frequenters  of  the  inn  declined  to  lodge  in  the  witch- 
stricken  hostel.  Soon  after,  the  children  being  together 
again,  the  old  phenomena  revived,  and  Mr.  Durbin,  on 
questioning  the  spirit,  learnt  that  the  witch  had  received 
another  fee  of  ten  guineas  to  continue  the  persecution.    The 


350  .     THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1761. 

necessity  of  taking  energetic  measures  being  now  apparent, 
Mrs.  Giles  resolved  on  calling  in  the  assistance  of  a  **  white 
witch,"  commonly  known  as  the  Cunning  Woman  of  Bed- 
minster.  A  visit  being  paid  to  this  redoubtable  female,  the 
witch  at  once  stated  to  her  disguised  clients  that  she  knew 
all  about  the  case,  named  the  spirit  that  had  worked  the 
mischief,  and  propounded  a  remedy  for  his  summary  over- 
throw which  modem  delicacy  will  not  permit  to  be  de- 
scribed. Her  pi-escription  was  immediately  followed  with 
triumphant  success.  The  demon  was  routed,  and  never 
ventured  to  return.  The  prosaic  John  Evans  concludes  his 
notice  of  the  affair  by  stating  that  the  whole  imposture  was 
planned  by  **  Mrs.  Nelmes,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Giles,  the 
grandmother  and  mother  of  Molly  and  Dobby,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  depreciating  the  value  of  the  house,  of  which  Mrs. 
Nelmes  became  the  purchaser." 

On  the  28th  December  the  Duke  of  York,  brother  of 
George  III.,  and  then  heir-presumptive  to  the  tlirone,  paid 
a  brief  visit  to  Bristol.  He  w^as  met  at  Temple  Gate  by  the 
mayor,  the  members  of  the  Corporation,  and  others,  who 
escorted  him  to  the  mayor's  residence  in  Queen  Square; 
After  being  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  and  of 
the  Merchants'  Society  in  gold  boxes,  the  young  prince  was 
entertained  to  dinner  at  the  Merchants'  Hall,  where  the 
tables  groaned  under  "400  dishes";  and  a  grand  ball  was 
held  at  a  later  hour  in  the  Assembly  Room.  The  duke  next 
morning  inspected  some  of  the  principal  glass-houses,  and 
then  returned  to  Bath.  Unusual  preparations  for  this  visit 
were  made  by  the  Common  Council,  who  sent  for  a  noted 
cook  from  Bath  to  dress  the  dinner,  and  ordered  that  the 
principal  table,  "  for  both  courses,"  should  be  set  out  with 
china  plates  and  dishes,  and  silver  knives,  forks,  and  spoons. 
The  plate  was  obtained  by  a  perquisition  on  the  wealthier 
aldermen  and  councillors,  Thomas  Deane  and  James  Hilhouse 
lending  3  dozen  each  ;  John  Durbin  and  Alderman  Smith 
each  2  dozen ;  and  Alderman  Laroche,  Alderman  Abraham 
Elton,  Isaac  Baugh,  Henry  Bright,  Daniel  Harson,  Charles 
Hotchkin,  and  M.  Mease  each  1  dozen.  The  chamberlain 
collected  138  more  knives  and  forks  from  other  persons.  No 
less  than  86  silver  candlesticks  figure  in  the  list  of  bor- 
rowed plate,  together  with  two  punch  bowls.  Altogether 
the  entertainment  cost  the  Corporation  upwards  of  A'620. 

The  corporate  accounts  contain  the  following  item,  dated 
December  22nd,  1761 : — "  Paid  for  the  ironwork  in  Gibleting 
Pat.   Ward    below  Hungroad,   Gloucestershire   side,   £10." 


1761-62.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  351 

There  was  a  further  outlay  of  ^12  Ids.  6d,  for  the  gibbet. 
Ward  was  executed  for  having  murdered  "  the  warner  " — a 
man  appointed  to  notify  to  Bristol  merchants  the  arrival  of 
their  vessels  in  Kingroad — ^and  the  gibbeting  of  the  body  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Avon  was  intended  to  strike  terror  in  law- 
less sailors. 

The  outbreak  of  war  with  Spain,  in  January,  1762,  was 
followed  in  Bristol  by  the  usual  preparations  for  harrying 
the  enemy's  merchantmen  by  privateers.  A  number  of 
ships  were  fitted  out,  but  without  any  striking  success.  In 
the  following  March  seven  sailors  belonging  to  one  of  those 
vessels — the  King  George,  of  32  guns  and  200  men — were 
tried  in  London,  charged  with  mutiny  and  carrying  off  the 
ship.  It  appeared  that  a  majority  of  the  crew,  having  de- 
termined to  undertake  a  piratical  excursion,  seized  and  im- 
prisoned Captain  Reed  and  the  officers,  and  placed  the  sailing 
master  in  command  of  the  privateer,  with  orders  to  navigate 
her  eastwards.  He  brought  her,  however,  to  a  European 
port,  where  100  of  the  mutineers  escaped.  Four  of  the 
prisoners  were  convicted,  and  two  of  them  were  afterwards 
hanged. 

The  first  recorded  "  lock-out  ^'  of  workmen  by  employers 
took  place  in  April,  when  the  journeymen  tailors  demanded 
a  reduction  in  the  hours  of  labour — then  14  per  day,  loss  an 
hour  for  dinner.  The  masters  refused  to  make  any  conces- 
sion, and  unanimously  agreed  to  close  their  workshops  until 
the  men  withdrew  their  request.  A  strike  occurred  at  Bath 
at  the  same  time,  the  men  demanding  that  their  daily  labour 
should  be  *^  only  from  six  in  the  morning  till  seven  in  the 
evening,  which  is  usual  throughout  the  kingdom."  The 
issue  is  unknown. 

Felia:  Farleifs  Journal  of  April  24th  recorded  the  death,  a 
week  previously,  of  a  wealthy  pluralist,  "  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Thomas  Taylor,  minister  or  proprietor  of  Cliflon,"  also  rector 
of  Congresbury,  curate  of  Wick,  and  rector  of  St.  Ewen's, 
Bristol.  Consequent  upon  his  demise,  "the  great  and  small 
tithes  of  the  parish  ot*  Clifton,  of  the  yearly  value  of  £110," 
were  offered  for  sale  in  October,  17G3.  They  were  again 
offered  for  sale  by  auction  in  April,  1778,  when  they  were 
stated  to  produce  jtJT)!)  yearly,  and  were  then  or  soon  after- 
wards purchased  by  Mr.  Samuel  Worrall,  whose  descendants 
have  reaped  enormous  profits  from  the  investment. 

The  Council,  at  a  meeting  in  May,  gave  orders  for  the 
demolition  of  Queen  Street  Gate,  Castle  precincts.  Castle 
Street  Gate  was  demolished  in  176G.     The  two  portals  were 


352  THE    ANNALS    OP    BRISTOL  [1762. 

erected  at  the  close  of  the  Commonwealth,  when  the  locality 
was  laid  out  for  building  sites. 

Norborne  Berkeley,  Esq.,  of  Stoke  Park,  Stapleton,  having 
been  appointed  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  city,  the  Council,  in 
July,  presented  him  with  the  freedom.  Mr.  Berkeley  had 
shortly  before  rebuilt  the  ancient  mansion  of  his  family,  to 
which  his  only  sister,  the  wife  of  the  fourth  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort, succeeded,  the  estate  thus  obtaining  the  vulgar  name  of 
"  the  Duchess's.''  Mr.  Berkeley,  who  was  stigmatised  by 
Junius  as  one  of  the  obsequious  ''  King's  friends,"  was  grati- 
fied in  1704  by  having  the  barony  of  Botetourt  revived  in 
his  favour.  In  1768  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Virginia, 
where  he  was  so  popular  that  the  colonists,  soon  after  his 
death,  erected  a  statue  to  his  memory  at  Richmond. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  Act  for  rebuilding 
Bristol  Bridge  empowered  the  trustees  to  make  improve- 
ments in  its  approaches,  one  of  the  most  important  of  which 
was  the  throwing  open  of  High  Street  by  the  removal  of  St. 
Nicholas's  Gate.  The  work  was  beset  with  considerable 
difficulty,  as  the  cliancel  of  St.  Nicholas's  church,  approached 
from  the  nave  by  about  twenty  st^ps,  extended  over  the 
archway,  and  any  interference  with  the  crumbling  old  fabric 
threatened  to  bring  the  whole  to  the  ground.  The  trustees 
long  hesitated  to  take  action ;  and  the  vestry  was  et^ually 
embarrassed  as  to  the  means  they  should  take  to  supply  the 
threatened  loss  of  area  in  a  church  already  too  small.  Early 
in  1702  the  parochial  authorities  resolved  to  obtain  estimate's 
for  building  a  new  church  in  King  Street,  but  this  project 
was  abandoned  as  too  expensive.  Negotiations  were  then 
opened  with  the  Bridge  trustees,  and  it  was  agreed  in 
February  that,  in  consideration  of  a  grant  of  £1,4(.)U  and  of 
certain  small  plots  of  ground,  the  vestry  would  remove  the 
nave  and  chancel,  including  the  gateway,  and  build  a  larger 
church  on  nearly  the  original  site.  A  design,  in  what  the 
architect  (James  Bridges)  facetiously  called  the  "  gothic  " 
style,  was  accepted  in  May;  the  last  sen^ices  in  the  old 
edifice  took  place  on  the  29th  August,  and  in  November 
certain  contractors  undertook  to  remove  the  gateway  and 
church  and  rebuild  the  latter  for  the  sum  of  £2,733.  Saving 
a  small  part  forming  the  eastern  end,  the  ancient  crypt  was 
preserved  intact.  The  work  of  demolition  was  forthwith 
commenced  ;  but,  although  the  removal  of  the  Gate  was  a 
great  public  convenience,  the  date  of  its  disappearance  is  not 
recorded.  The  vestry  proposed  to  retain  the  ancient  tower ; 
but,  as  the  wooden  spire  was  decayed,  a  design  was  obtained 


1762.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTUEY.  353 

for  substituting  a  "  cupola "  similar  to  the  All  Saints' 
anomaly.  When  the  spire  was  taken  down,  however,  in 
1763  (the  leaden  covering  produced  £246  17«.),  the  authori- 
ties learnt  with  dismay  that  the  tower  itself  was  ruinous,  and 
they  felt  compelled  to  order  its  removal,  and  to  accept  a  plan 
(by  Thomas  Patey)  for  a  new  one.  In  their  tribulation  to 
find  funds  for  this  and  other  charges  the  vestry  hit  upon  a 
novel  expedient.  The  only  communication  between  Nicholas 
and  Baldwin  Streets  was  a  dark  and  inconvenient  flight  of 
steps.  The  sub-structure  of  the  spire  oflfered  space  for 
another  thoroughfare,  and,  an  appeal  having  been  made  to 
the  Corporation  and  the  Society  of  Merchants,  a  grant  oi 
£210  was  voted  by  the  former  and  £105  by  the  latter  to- 
wards making  "  an  easy  and  convenient  public  passage 
under  the  new  intended  tower  "  from  Nicholas  Street  to  the 
Back.  (Traces  of  this  footwav  are  still  visible  on  the 
southern  wall  of  the  tower.)  The  deficit  being  still  large, 
the  vestry  resolved  to  levy  a  yearly  church-rate  of  2«.  in  tne 
pound  on  rack  rentals  ;  but  the  tax  was  stoutly  resisted,  the 
parishioners  contending  that  the  authorities  should  apply  to 
the  building  fund  the  £1,241  received  for  church  property 
on  the  old  Bridge,  or  that  the  Bridge  trustees  should  be 
compelled  to  pay  the  whole  cost  of  the  reconstruction.  Secret 
negotiations  followed  between  the  vestry  and  the  trustees, 
and  the  latter  body,  by  what  was  subsequently  denounced 
as  a  gross  malfeasance,  voted  an  additional  sum  of  £1,000 
towards  the  building  fund.  The  vestry  thereupon  discarded 
the  plan  of  a  *'  cupola.**  An  Act  to  legalise  the  trustees' 
grant  and  to  empower  the  levying  of  church  rates  was 
successfully  applied  for  in  November,  1768.  The  statute 
stated  that  the  church  and  tower,  then  completed,  had  cost 
£6,549  6^.,  and  that  the  spire  would  entail  a  further  outlay 
of  £1,075.  The  capstone  of  the  spire,  206  feet  from  the 
ground,  was  laid  in  December,  1769,  by  George  Catcott,  who 
was  ridiculed  by  Chatterton  for  the  eccentric  freak.  St. 
Nicholas's  Conduit  was  removed  by  the  Bridge  trustees  in 
1762,  and  was  rebuilt  at  their  expense  on  the  Back,  the 
vestiy  requiring  them  also  to  construct  two  cisterns  holding 
eighty  tons  of  water. 

Felix  Farletf  s  Journal  of  August  21st,  1762,  announced  that 
"  several  workmen  are  now  employed  in  raising  the  walks 
in  College  Green,  and  in  taking  down  the  High  Cross."  No 
order  for  this  demolition,  subsequent  to  that  of  1767,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  minutes  of  the  dean  and  chapter  ;  but  it  would 
appear  that  the  Cathedral  authorities  were  memorialised  by 

A  A 


354  THE  ANNALS  01  BRISTOL  [1762* 

several  leading  residents  to  remove  the  Cross,  the  chief 
grievance  being  that  from  its  intersecting  the  walks  it  pre- 
vented parties  of  promenaders  from  walking  abreast,  and 
was  often  defiled  by  nuisances.  (Mr.  Richard  Champion, 
the  china-maker,  is  said,  in  a  local  work,  to  have  been  an 
earnest  agitator  for  the  removal,  and  to  have  raised  a  sub- 
scription for  that  purpose ;  but  he  was  then  a  youth  of  18 
years,  living  in  London.)  The  newspaper  scribe  added  that 
the  Cross,  "  when  beautified,"  would  be  re-erected  "  in  the 
middle  of  the  grass  plot  near  the  Lower  Green,"  near  its 
former  position  ;  but  if  such  a  design  was  ever  contemplated 
it  was  soon  abandoned.  The  stonework  and  statues  were 
deposited  in  the  Cathedral,  where  they  remained  for  two 
years.  In  the  meantime  the  Rev.  Cutts  Barton  became  the 
head  of  the  Cathedral,  and  that  practical-minded  worldling, 
dreading  an  appeal  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Cross,  which 
would  have  involved  the  chapter  in  some  expense,  resolved 
to  get  rid  of  the  relics  (of  which  he  was  not  the  owner)  by 
presenting  them  to  Mr.  Henry  Hoare,  of  Stourhead,  a  zealous 
collector  of  antiquities,  who  cordially  accepted  the  gift.  In 
October,  1764,  the  materials,  excepting  the  much-worn  lower 
columns,  were  despatched  in  six  wagons  to  their  final  rest- 
ing place  in  Wiltshire.  Almost  the  only  comment  on  this 
transaction  published  in  the  local  press  was  the  following 
epigram  in  F.  Farley's  Journal  of  October  28th  : — 

Ye  people  of  Bristol,  deplore  the  sad  loss 

Of  the  kings  and  the  queens  that  once  reigned  in  your  Cross ; 
Your  great  men^s  great  wisdom  you  surely  must  pity, 
Who've  banished  what  all  men  admired  from  the  city. 

By  the  death,  on  the  26th  August,  of  the  seventh  Earl  of 
Westmoreland,  that  title  devolved  upon  Mr.  Thomas  Fane, 
long  an  eminent  legal  practitioner  in  Bristol,  nephew  and 
heir  of  John  Scrope,  M.P.,  and  son-in-law  of  Alderman 
William  Swymmer,  a  wealthy  Bristolian.  Mr.  Fane,  who 
lived  many  years  in  the  Scrope  maiLsion  in  Small  Street,  was 
appointed,  through  his  uncle's  influence.  Customer  of  the 
port— a  valuable  sinecure — and  was  also  steward  of  several 
royal  manors,  and  clerk  to  the  Merchants'  Society.  Having 
acquired  a  fortune,  he  retired  from  business  about  1768, 
when  his  Bristol-born  son  and  heir  married  a  grand-daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Ancaster,  and  he  himself  became  M.P.  for 
Lyme  Regis.  The  statement  in  a  local  history  that  he  was 
a  low-class  attorney,  and  succeeded  to  the  earldom  only 
through  the  rapid  death  of  twelve  intervening  heirs,  is  a 
ridiculous  fiction.     After  his  death,  in  1771,  his  widow  re- 


1762.]  IN   THE    EIGHTKtirca    CENTURT.  355 

turned  to  Bristol,  and  resided  in  her  anoeatral  house  on  St. 
Augustine's  Back  until  her  demise  in  1782. 

A  Government  notification  in  the  local  newspapers  of  the 
4th  September,  1762,  announced  an  acceleration  of  the  mails 
between  the  southern  counties  and  Bristol.  In  future  the 
postboy  was  to  leave  Salisbury  on  Mondays  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  to  arrive  at  Bath  (a  distance  of  about  39  miles) 
at  8  or  9  at  night,  and  to  leave  Bath  for  Bristol  at  six  next 
morning.  On  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  the  departure  from 
Salisbury  was  in  the  evening,  the  journey  occupying  about 
nineteen  hours.  By  this  arrangement  letters  from  Ports- 
mouth were  received  two  days  earlier  than  before. 

Owing  to  the  increasing  population  of  the  out-parish  of 
St.  Philip's,  a  private  cemetery,  styled  the  Universal  Burial 
Ground,  was  opened  about  this  time.  It  is  described  as 
"  behind  Eugene  Street,  near  the  Poor  House,  without  Law- 
ford's  Gate."     The  charge  for  an  interment  was  4«. 

A  local  journal  of  the  30th  October  gave  notice  that  an 
**  Expert  Tapster  "  was  wanted  for  Newgate  prison.  "  He 
will  be  under  the  protection  of  the  Keeper  from  all  harms 
and  insults,  and  shall  keep  a  genteel  apartment  free  from 
disturbance.  The  Tap-house  to  be  locked  every  night  at 
half  an  hour  after  ten  o'clock."  The  place  was  a  profitable 
one,  for  prisoners  and  visitors  were  allowed  to  drink  as  much 
as  they  could  pay  for,  and  previous  to  the  execution  of  an 
interesting  criminal  the  gaol  was  crowded  with  bibulous 
sympathisers.  In  October,  1764,  two  felons  under  sentence 
of  death  had  a  quarrel  whilst  drinking  in  the  "genteel 
apartment,"  when  one  of  them  drew  the  knife  he  was  per- 
mitted to  carry,  and  nearly  killed  his  companion.  Insolvent 
debtors  mingled  with  criminals  in  this  drinking  den,  and 
were  physically  and  morally  infected  by  them.  Dr.  John- 
son, in  a  contemporary  essay,  computed  that  out  of  the  20,000 
debtors  in  English  prisons  one-fourth  perished  yearly  from 
the  corruption  of  the  air,  want  of  exercise  and  food,  the  con- 
tagion of  diseases,  and  the  "  severity  of  tyrants." 

The  civic  arrangements  for  preserving  order  in  the  streets 
being  inefficient,  drunken  quarrels  were  of  everyday  occur- 
rence. On  the  23rd  October  a  desperate  afiray,  arising 
out  of  a  pothouse  dispute,  occurred  near  St.  Nicholas's 
church  between  the  butchers  in  the  market  and  a  number 
of  Glamorganshire  militiamen  then  quartered  in  the  city. 
One  butcher  was  mortally  injured,  and  several  on  both  sides 
were  grievously  wounded.  No  steps  were  taken  for  the 
punishment  of  the  rioters,  but  on  the  2nd  November  two 


356  THl   ANNALS   OP  BBI8TOL  [1762. 

of  the  militiamen,  convicted  of  having  taken  money  from 
French  prisoners  at  Knowle  to  favour  their  escape,  were 
drummed  out  of  the  regiment,  "after  receiving  1000  lashes 
each  at  three  several  times."  About  the  same  date,  a  cor- 
respondent of  the  Bristol  Journal  complained  of  the  foulness 
of  the  public  thoroughfares,  which  he  declared  to  be  a 
scandal  to  the  city.  "Your  lanes  and  alleys,'*  he  said, 
"smell  aloud,''  and  filth  lay  in  every  direction. 

In  consequence  of  a  fire  which  took  place  on  the  16th 
November  in  a  house  on  St.  Philip's  Plam,  by  which  eight 
of  the  inmates  lost  their  lives,  attention  was  again  called 
to  the  inadequate  provisions  existing  for  the  prevention  of 
such  disasters.  The  Corporation  took  no  action,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  when  a  sugar- house  was  burnt  to  the  ground, 
the  only  apparatus  in  working  order  was  the  engine  of 
the  Crown  Fire  Office,  which  is  shown  by  a  contemporary 
engraving  to  have  contained  about  forty  gallons  of  water, 
and  to  have  been  worked  by  two  men. 

The  increased  taxation  rendered  necessary  by  the  Seven 
Years'  War  caused  a  notable  rise  in  the  price  of  beer.  In 
November,  1762,  the  following  advertisement  appeared  in 
the  local  press: — "The  publicans  of  Bristol... greatly  op- 
pressed by  the  late  Act  of  advancing  3^*.  per  barrel,  and 
now  malt  being  at  is.  per  bushel... ale  cannoi  be  afforded  at 
Bd.  per  quart,  and  therefore  give  notice  that  from  and  after 
the  29th  November,  all  ale  will  be  sold  at  id.  j^er  quart." 
The  announcement  raised  a  storm  of  indignation,  and  three 
weeks  later  the  trade  notified  that  the  price  would  be  fixed 
at  3id.,  "as  in  London,  which  we  hope  will  be  agreeable 
to  the  public."  The  retail  charge  for  wine  continued  low. 
At  the  fashionable  Ostrich  inn,  on  Durdham  Down,  the  price 
of  half  a  pint  of  wine  was  sixpence  in  November,  1761. 

The  wrath  of  the  Common  Council  was  aroused  in  Decem- 
ber by  the  discovery  that  several  "  foreigners  "  had  opeued 
places  of  business  in  the  city.  The  town-clerk  was  ordered 
to  prosecute  the  intruders,  many  of  whom  made  their  peace 
by  purchasing  the  freedom.  The  persecutiou  was  renewed 
i)i  1765.  when  a  draper  was  required  to  pay  no  less  than 
fifty  guineas.  On  his  petition,  however,  a  moiety  of  the 
fine  was  remitted.  After  this  period  the  old  detestation  of 
intruders  gradually  died  out.  In  a  brief  account  of  the  city 
prefixed  to  "  The  New  Bristol  Directory  for  the  year  1792/' 
the  compiler  remarks: — "All  kinds  of  persons  are  free  to 
exercise  their  trades  and  callings  here,  without  molestation 
from  the  Corporation." 


1762-63.]       IN  THE  EIQHTEENTH  CENTORY.  357 

The  fee  for  "breaking  the  ground"  for  a  funeral  in  the 
Cathedral  was  £10  for  a  grave  in  the  choir,  and  £6  in  the 
nave  or  cloisters,  irrespective  of  heavy  fees  for  the  funeral 
service.  The  dean  and  chapter  condemned  these  charges  as 
"exorbitant^'  in  December,  1762,  and  ordered  them  to  be 
reduced  to  £6,  £3,  and  £2  respectively.  In  1776,  however, 
the  authorities  again  raised  the  fee  to  £10  for  interment  in 
the  Cathedral,  and  in  1802  the  charge  was  increased  to  £16, 
a  grave  in  the  chancel  costing  £5  extra. 

The  proclamation  of  peace  with  France  and  Spain  was 
made  on  the  30th  March,  1763,  with  the  usual  formalities. 
The  peace,  effected  by  the  king's  favourite,  the  Earl  of  Bute, 
was  exceedingly  unpopular,  and  although  the  Corporation 
ordered  "  a  rundlet  of  wine  to  be  let  run  at  the  several  con- 
duits of  All  Saints,  St.  Thomas,  and  the  Key,"  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  the  populace,  enthusiasm  was  conspicuously  absent. 
F,  Farley's  Journal  indicated  the  prevalent  feeling: — 

The  Peace  is  go-^d — who  dare  dispute  the  fact? 
See  the  first  fruits  thei-eof — the  Cyder  Act! 

The  Government  had  just  kindled  the  wrath  of  the  western 
counties  by  imposing  an  excise  duty  on  the  popular  beverage 
of  the  district,  and  the  hatred  of  the  Scotch  Minister  was 
deep  and  widespread.  In  some  neighbouring  towns  the 
peace  proclamation  was  made  amidst  the  funereal  tolling 
of  bells  and  the  mocking  salutes  of  "  sowgelders'  horns." 
Another  Bristol  poet  may  be  quoted  : — 

Our  strong  Bepr  is  taxM,  and  we're  taxM  in  onr  Lights, 

And  more  would  they  tax  of  our  national  Kight« ; 

But  sooner  than  yield  to  a  tax  on  our  Fruit, 

The  trees,  though  in  blossom,  shall  fall  to  the  root. 

May  those  who  persist  in  enforcing  the  deed 

For  evermore  dwell  on  the  north  side  the  Tweed. 

A  week  or  two  later  there  was  a  sale,  on  the  Quaj-,  of 
a  quantity  of  Gloucestershire  "Syder,'*  which,  says  the 
reporter,  *'  sold  for  three-farthings  a  gallon  ;  so  great  is  the 
aversion  to  the  intended  duty  and  the  agreeable  visits  of 
the  exciseman."  The  Thanksgiving  Day  to  celebrate  the 
Peace  excited  renewed  manifestations  of  discontent.  In 
spite  of  the  corporate  outlay  for  gunpowder,  bonfires,  and 
hogsheads  of  beer,  the  people  stood  sulkily  aloof.  In  another 
western  city,  the  church  porches  were  decked  with  crape 
and  apples ;  the  mayor  walked  alone  to  the  cathedral ; 
while  in  the  evening  the  mob,  provided  with  a  jack-boot, 
a  punning  symbol  of  the  Scotch  favourite's  name  and  title, 
paraded  an  efl&gy  wrapped  in  a  plaid,  which  they  banged 
and  burnt.    When  the  Cider  Act  came  into  operation,  in  the 


358  THE   ANNALS   OV   BRISTOL  [1763. 

autumn,  a  county  meeting  was  held  in  Gloucestershire,  at 
which  it  was  declared  that  the  tax  had  "  spread  a  universal 
face  of  sorrow  over  the  cider  counties,"  while  in  the  market 
towns  apple  boughs  and  empty  barrels  pranked  with  mourn- 
ing were  carried  in  procession,  followed  by  "  a  number  of 
poor  objects  with  crape-covered  apples  in  their  bosoms."  In 
the  Forest  of  Dean  an  exciseman  was  seized  by  the  colliers, 
who  imprisoned  him  for  more  than  a  month  in  the  workings 
of  a  mine.  Two  young  Bristolians,  engaged  by  the  excise 
authorities  to  survey  the  orchards  in  this  neighbourhood, 
relinquished  their  duties  after  one  day's  experience.  They 
had  been  permitted  to  return  home  only  after  solemnly 
swearing  that  they  would  never  adventure  again  on  a 
similar  errand.     The  tax  was  abolished  in  1766. 

An  ancient  chapel,  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  which 
in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  was  converted  into  a  grammar 
school,  stood  at  this  period  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Mary 
Eedcliff.  Having  become  dilapidated,  and  being  an  ob- 
struction to  the  south-western  view  of  the  church,  ic  was 
taken  down  in  March,  1763.  No  relic  was  preserved  save 
the  tombstone  of  a  medieval  chaplain,  John  Lavington,  now 
in  St.  Mary's.  The  school  was  removed  to  the  Lady  Chapel 
in  the  church,  where  it  remained  for  many  years.  The 
ancient  Cross  of  Redcliff,  standing  in  the  churchyard,  was 
demolished  about  the  same  time.  The  destructive  mania 
provoked  no  comment.  About  the  close  of  the  year,  how- 
ever, Felix  Farley\H  Journal  stated  that  one  of  the  cliurcli- 
wardens,  styled  "  Joe "  [Thomas],  who  had  caused  the 
removal  of  the  Cross,  had  been  carting  away  a  quantity  of 
earth  from  the  churchyard  to  his  brickfield,  and  was  making 
bricks  of  the  material.  This  story  attracted  attention,  and 
"  Joe  "  was  the  object  of  some  violent  attacks  both  in  prose 
and  verse.     One  satire  (January,  1764),  describing  the  ap- 

Earition  of  Conscience  to  the  culprit,  was  absurdly  attributed 
y  Mr.  Tyson  to  Chatterton,  then  eleven  years  old,  and 
complaisant  editors  have  since  inserted  the  verses  in  the 
poet's  works.  (The  lines  were  doubtless  written  by  the 
under-master  of  Colston's  School,  Thomas  Phillips,  a  frequent 
contributor  of  rhymes  to  the  Bristol  Journal^  who  was 
eulogised  by  his  friend  and  pupil,  Chatterton,  as  one  of  the 
first  of  living  poets.)  A  twelvemonth  later  the  officers  of 
the  parish  are  recorded  to  have  held  their  annual  Easter 
feast  in  a  '^  Banquetting  Room  lately  erected  at  a  very 
considerable  expense,"  when  the  health  of  "  Saint  Joe,  the 
founder  of  the  edifice,"  was  duly  honoured. 


1763.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  859 

The  newspapers  of  the  9th  April  announced  the  starting 
of  a  **  Flying  Machine/'  which  undertook  the  astounding 
feat  of  making  the  journey  to  London  during  the  summer 
in  **  one  day  " — meaning  twenty-four  hours.  The  fare  was 
30«.,  or  3«.  more  than  was  charged  by  the  two  days'  machine, 
which  retained  the  favour  of  sober-minded  travellers. 

An  advertisement  in  the  local  press  of  May  shows  that 
the  White  Hart  inn,  Lower  Easton,  "commonly  called 
Barton  Hundred,"  was  a  favourite  haunt  of  Bristolians  bent 
on  a  holiday.  The  landlady  announced  that  she  prepared 
an  ordinary  every  Sunday  at  half-past  one  o'clock.  For 
upper  class  visitors  "  Barbacues,  Turtles,  and  dinners  of  all 
kinds "  were  "  dressed  in  a  genteel  maimer,"  while  the 
best  of  tea  and  coffee  were  served  in  pleasant  arbours  in  a 
spacious  garden.  Another  advertisement  shows  that  the 
large  tennis-court  attached  to  the  inn  was  the  scene  of  prize 
fights  patronised  by  the  upper  classes.  In  July,  1763,  "a 
public  house  known  as  Amo's  Vale,"  another  popular  resort 
for  the  discussion  of  "  politics  and  ale,"  according  to  one  of 
Chattertoii's  poems,  was  advertised  to  be  let.  The  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  is  unknown.  A  publican  named  Amo 
occupied  an  inn  in  High  Street  in  1773.  The  Swan  inn  at 
Almondsbury  was  also  much  patronised  by  excursionists. 
The  landlord,  in  May,  1773,  announced  that  it  had  been 
greatly  enlarged.  There  was  an  ordinary  on  Sundays ;  but 
turtles  and  dinners  were  dressed  daily  on  the  shortest  notice, 
and  a  large  bowling-green  was  open  free  every  day  except 
Friday. 

One  of  the  minor  city  gates,  that  of  the  Pithay,  was 
ordered  to  be  demolished  in  December,  1763. 

The  ducking  stool  for  the  punishment  of  scolds  having 
gone  out  of  fashion,  a  victim  of  female  malice  bethought 
herself  about  this  time  of  another  ancient  piece  of  machinery 
— now  equally  obsolete — for  castigating  the  evil-tongued. 
Eleanor  Collins,  a  married  woman,  of  St.  Stephen's  parish, 
commenced  an  action  for  slander  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Court 
of  Bristol  against  a  neighbour  named  Sarah  Slack,  wife  of 
a  butcher.  The  nature  of  the  slander  does  not  appear,  but 
may  be  easily  conjectured.  After  a  solemn  hearing  before 
the  chancellor  of  the  diocese  in  the  Consistory  Court,  a 
quaint  old  chamber  adjoining  the  Cathedral,  still  to  be  seen, 
the  defendant  was  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  undergo 
penance  in  her  parish  church.  Mrs.  Slack,  however,  was 
contumacious,  and  also  refused  to  pay  the  prosecutrix's  costs 
(£4  11^.  Id.).    Having  been  vainly  summoned  three  times 


360  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1763. 

to  submit,  she  was  solemnly  excommunicated  by  the  bishop. 
This    also    proving   ineffectual,   a  writ  de  excommunicato 
capiendo  was  issued  by  the  Crown,  setting  forth  the  defen- 
dant's enormities,  and  "  forasmuch  as  the  Royal  power  ought 
not  to  be  wanting  to  the  Holy  Church  in  its  complaint," 
the  sheriffs  were  commanded  "  to  attach  the  said  Sarah  by 
her  body,  according  to  the  custom  of  England,  until  she 
shall  have   made  satisfaction  to  the  Holy  Church."     The 
writ  came  in  due  course  into  the  hands  of  the  under-sheriff, 
the  afterwards  famous  Alderman  Bengough,  who,  being  a 
Unitarian,  was  so  tickled  by  the  duties  it  imposed  upon  him 
that  he  left  a  note  of  the  case  amongst  his  papers,  now  in 
the  Jefferies  Collection.     Unfortunately  he  failed  to  record 
the   issue.      Ecclesiastical   suits  for  slander  were   not   un- 
common down  to  the  close   of  the  Georgian   era,  but  as 
reporters  did  not  penetrate  into  the  Consistory  Court,  the 
only  record  of  its  transactions  exists  in  the  books  of  the 
registrar,  and  in  the  loose  papers  remaining  in  the  audience 
chamber.    The  slander  was  invariably  a  slur  on  the  chastity 
of  the   complainant.      In  one   case   an   offender,  during  a 
drinking  bout  at  the  Blackamoor's  Head,  Redland,  styled 
a   companion   a   "poor   cuckold   dog,"  whereupon  a  sharp 
attorney  raised  a  suit  on  the  part  of  the  husband  and  his 
incriminated  wife,  and  the  culprit  was  mulcted  in  heavy 
costs.     In  another  local  case,  that  of  a  slanderous  woman 
named    Robinson,   excommunicated  in   Bristol,  the  victim 
was  by  some  legal  trickery  committed  to  Gloucester  county 
gaol,  and  remained  there  three  years  and  a  half,  only  then 
obtaining  her  liberty  on  paying  £11  12.<?.  costs  (Pari.  Debates, 
xxi.  299).     In  1808  one  Mary  Ann  Dix,  18  years  of  age, 
of  Redcliff  parish,  was  cited  to  the  Consistory  Court  for 
slandering  an  exciseman's  wife,  named  Ruffy,  who  kept  a 
house  of  ill-fame.     In  November,  1809,  the  defendant  was 
adjudged  guilty,  and   was  enjoined  in  her  absence  to  do 
penance  and  to  pay  the  costs,  £12  7^.  lid.    Latter  on  she  was 
excommunicated  during  divine  service  in  Redcliff  church 
for   not   conforming    to   the    sentence,   although   she   was 
ignorant  of  its  purport,  while  her  father,  who  had  a  large 
family,  was  unable  to  pay  the  costs,  now  £30.     She  was 
attached   under   a  writ  de  excom.  cap.,  and   conveyed    to 
Newgate,  from  which,  in  January,  1812,  she  petitioned  the 
House  of  Commons,  stating  that  she  had  been  26  months 
in  prison,  and  would  have  starved  but  for  the  charity  of 
the  benevolent.     The  subject  led  to  a  lively  debate,  in  the 
course  of  which  it  was  stated  that  a  man  in  the  West  of 


1764.]  IN  THE  EIQHTEENTH  CENTURY.  361 

England  had  been  shortly  before  excommunicated  and  im- 
prisoned for  refusing  to  pay  a  church  rate.  A  promise  was 
made  by  the  Government  to  deal  with  the  Consistory  Courts 
with  a  view  to  their  reform,  but  nothing  was  effectually 
done  until  thirty  years  later.  The  fate  of  Mary  Ann  Dix 
is  unknown. 

The  position  of  a  common  councillor  named  Joseph  Love 
(sheriff,  1760)  caused  some  embarrassment  to  his  colleagues 
about  this  period.  On  the  24th  March,  1764,  the  Chamber 
ordered  that  a  present  of  60  guineas  be  made  to  Mrs.  Love, 
"  towards  her  present  subsistence.''  Mr.  Love  continued  to 
attend  the  Council  until  March,  1766.  A  few  months  later 
his  son  petitioned  for  help  to  maintain  himself  at  the 
University  of  Oxford,  when  a  vote  of  20  guineas  was  ac- 
corded ;  a  similar  grant  was  also  passed  in  each  of  the  three 
following  years.  At  length,  in  July,  1769,  "formal  com- 
plaint" was  made  that  Love  had  quitted  England  four  years 
previously ;  and  a  summons  was  issued  requiring  him  to 
attend  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not  be  removed  from 
office.  As  he  naturally  made  no  response,  his  deposition 
was  ordered  at  the  next  sitting.  Mr.  Love  was  not  the  only 
member  under  a  financial  cloud.  In  June,  1764,  Joseph 
Daltera  (sheriff,  1761)  sent  in  his  resignation,  and,  "  being 
reduced  through  a  series  of  misfortunes  to  very  low  circum- 
stances," the  House  granted  him  a  life  annuity  of  £40. 

Felix  Farley^s  Journal,  of  April  28th,  1764,  records  the 
death  of  "Dr.  [George]  Randolph,  a  physician  of  great 
eminence,  well  known... as  the  chief  person  who  first 
brought  the  Bristol  Hot  Well  into  such  public  esteem  by 
his  judgment  in  directing  the  use  of  the  waters,  and  his 
ingenious  dissertation  on  the  subject.^'  (Dr.  Randolph's 
'*  Enquiry  into  the  medicinal  virtues  of  Bristol  Water ''  was 
published  in  1745.)  The  spring  continued  in  great  repute. 
The  author  of  "The  Beauties  of  England,"  published  in 
1767,  noted  when  in  Bristol  that  the  water  was  "not  only 
drunk  on  the  spot  at  the  pump-room,  but  every  morning 
cried  in  the  streets,  like  milk." 

The  urgency  of  port  improvement  increased  with  the 
development  of  trade  after  the  Seven  Years'  War.  A  mere 
extension  of  the  quays,  the  stop-gap  invented  by  the  non- 
progressive party,  ignored-  the  difficulties  and  losses  arising 
from  the  tidal  phenomena  of  the  Avon.  Vessels  lying  in 
the  harbour,  being  left  aground  for  some  hours  twice  a  day, 
were  liable  to  be  severely  strained,  especially  when  laden, 
and  the  possibility  of  an  outbreak  of  fire  whilst  the  crowded 


362  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1764. 

shipping  lay  immovable  was  a  constant  danger.  The  com- 
merce of  the  port  was  still  much  superior  to  that  of  any 
provincial  rival,  the  net  receipts  of  Customs  in  1764  being 
£196,000,  while  those  at  Liverpool  were  only  £70,000 ;  but 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  Lancashire  town  excited  appre- 
hension. After  much  private  discussion,  a  numerously  at- 
tended meeting  of  merchants  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  on 
the  25th  July,  1764,  when  it  was  resolved  that  an  efficient 
scheme  for  keeping  vessels  afloat  would  be  highly  beneficial, 
and  that  the  sum  of  £30,000  should  be  raised  by  subscrip- 
tion, in  £100  shares,  for  carrj'ing  out  the  design  under  the 
approval  of  the  Corporation.  Only  one  third  of  the  pro- 
posed capital  was,  however,  subscribed,  and  many  wealthy 
men  refused  their  co-operation.  The  promoters  nevertheless 
applied  to  Smeaton,  tne  celebrated  engineer,  to  furnish  a 
plan,  which  was  produced  in  the  following  January.  Mr. 
Smeaton  proposed  to  convert  the  lower  course  of  the  Froom 
into  a  floating  dock,  to  be  connected  with  the  Avon  by  a 
canal  through  Canons'  Marsh.  The  cost  of  the  works  was 
estimated  at  £26,000,  exclusive  of  compensation  for  the  land 
required  for  the  canal.  Extraordinary  as  it  now  appears, 
the  engineer's  scheme  took  away  the  breath  of  the  improve- 
ment party.  Barrett,  who  was  a  witness  of  its  effects, 
briefly  notes  in  his  history  that  the  proposed  outlay  "  was 
so  great  as  to  quash  the  enterprise."  In  January,  1707, 
Mr.  William  Champion  proposed  a  still  bolder  plan,  by 
which  lock  gates  would  have  been  thrown  across  tlie  Avon 
opposite  Red  Clift  House,  and  both  rivers  converted  into  a 
floating  harbour,  capable  of  containing  a  thousand  ships,  at 
an  estimated  cost  of  £30,000.  The  anti-improvement  party 
thereupon  employed  an  engineer  named  Mylne  to  write 
down  the  scheme,  and  as  the  critic  positively  asserted  that 
£60,000  would  scarcely  suffice  to  carry  out  the  design, 
capitalists  held  aloof,  and  the  whole  matter  went  to  sleep 
again. 

The  absence  of  an  organ  in  the  Mayor's  Chapel  having 
been  complained  of,  the  Common  Council,  in  June,  1764, 
purchased  of  Mr.  Edmund  Broderip,  for  300  guineas,  the 
organ  then  standing  in  the  Assembly  Room,  Prince's  Street, 
and  appointed  him  organist,  at  a  salary  of  £25  a  year. 

The  city  was  horrified  on  the  27th  September  by  the 
murder  of  Mrs.  Frances  Ruscombe,  a  lady  living  in  College 
Green,  and  of  her  servant,  Mary  Sweet.  The  crime  was 
brought  to  light  by  a  female  relative  who  had  been  invited 
to  dinner,  and  who,  on  entering  the  house,  found  the  body 


^ 


1764.]  IN   THB    EiaHTISSTV  OCHTUBT.  363 

of  the  lady  on  the  stairs,  with  the  head  mutilated,  irhile 
that  of  the  servant,  with  the  head  nearly  cut  off,  was  lying 
in  the  back  parlour.  The  murders  had  been  perpetrated 
only  a  short  time,  the  bodies  being  still  warm.  The  mur- 
derer, who  had  carried  off  a  bag  and  purse  containing  about 
£90  in  gold  coin,  was  never  detected,  although  Mr.  Nugent, 
M.P.,  offered  a  reward  of  £600,  supplemented  by  one  of 
£100  by  the  Corporation,  of  60  guineas  by  Mrs.  Buscombe's 
sisters,  and  of  £10  more  by  her  husband.  Many  persons 
were  arrested,  and  amongst  those  vehemently  suspected  was 
the  baker.  Peaceable  Robert  Matthews  (see  p.  272) ;  but  no 
evidence  could  be  discovered  against  any  one.  De  Quincy, 
who  learnt  the  details  of  the  case  during  one  of  his  visits  to 
Bristol,  refers  to  it  in  his  well-known  essay  on  "  Murder  as 
a  Fine  Art."  The  house  in  which  the  deed  was  committed 
was  afterwards  demolished  and  rebuilt  by  Sir  Jarrit  Smith. 

Owing  to  the  demand  for  lodgings  at  the  Hot  Well,  the 
houses  known  as  Dowry  Parade  were  erected  about  this 
time.  The  "  third  house  on  the  Neiy  Parade,  newly  built, 
and  let  at  £80  a  year,"  was  advertised  to  be  sold  in  Sep- 
tember. "A  Tour  through  Great  Britain,"  issued  in  1761, 
states  that  "  there  are  magnificent  lodgings  in  the  beautiful 
village  of  Clifton,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  for  such  as  have 
carriages,  and  whose  lungs  can  bear  a  keener  air  " ;  but  the 
road  down  to  the  well  is  described  as  "far  from  com- 
modious." It  was  in  fact  a  rocky  precipice,  afterwards 
converted  into  Granby  Hill.  The  down,  however,  odo- 
riferous and  brilliant  with  "  heath,  eyebright,  wild  thyme, 
marjoram,  maiden-hair,  wild  sage,  geraniums,  &c.,"  and 
pasturing  "  cows,  horses,  sheep  and  asses,"  afforded  a 
delightful  place  of  recreation. 

When  a  well-connected  clergyman  thought  himself  un- 
justly treated  if  his  friends  did  not  provide  him  with  at 
least  two  livings,  pluralities  became  pardonable  in  the  lower 
offices  of  the  church.  From  a  marriage  notice  in  the  Bristol 
papers  of  October  13th,  1764,  it  appears  that  one  Mr.  Gan- 
thony,  the  father  of  the  bride,  was  a  lay-vicar  of  the 
Cathedral,  parish  clerk  of  St.  Augustine's,  and  parish  clerk 
of  St.  John's.  The  clerkship  of  St.  Augustine's  was  very 
profitable,  owing  to  the  fees  received  from  wealthy  parish- 
ioners at  marriages  and  burials.  One  of  the  contemporary 
lay-vicars  improved  his  income  by  keeping  a  public-house  ; 
but  the  chapter  was  offended  at  the  innovation,  and  the 
man  was  dismissed.  Mr.  Ganthony's  lucrative  arrangement 
passed  unrebuked  by  a  body  of  pluralists.     Indeed  in  June, 


/ 


364  THB   ANXALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1764« 

1765,  when  a  place  of  lay- vicar  became  vacant,  the  chapter 
presented  it  to  the  organist  of  the  Cathedral. 

St.  Philip's  Church  underwent  a  partial  reconstruction 
during  the  closing  months  of  1764.  The  ancient  roof  of 
the  nave  was  preserved,  but  the  arches  supporting  it  were 
removed,  and  the  number  of  piers  diminished  one  half,  thus 
increasing  the  accommodation  at  the  sacrifice  of  archi- 
tectural harmony.  The  walls  were  also  rebuilt,  and  the 
old  window  tracery  disappeared.  The  expense  incurred 
amounted  to  about  £1,600.  Of  this  amount,  £1,030  were 
raised  by  a  church  rate,  to  which  the  in-parish  contributed 
£345,  and  the  out-parish  £686. 

The  laws  prohibiting  the  entry  into  England  of  Irish 
food  products  were  suspended  in  October,  1764,  owing  to 
domestic  scarcity.  They  had,  to  that  date,  been  rigorously 
executed,  a  quantity  of  Irish  butter  having  been  confiscated 
in  1763.  The  relaxation  caused  a  sensible  increase  in  the 
local  trade  with  Ireland. 

At  a  period  when  pearly  all  the  wealthy  families  in  the 
city  inhabited  Queen  Square  and  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 
James's  Barton,  the  inconveniences  attending  a  visit  to  the 
theatre  at  Jacob's  Wells  were  naturally  a  subject  of  much 
complaint.  Early  in  1764  a  movement  was  started  for  the 
erection  of  a  theatre  worthy  of  the  city ;  and  in  a  short 
time  a  body  of  proprietors  was  formed,  consisting  of  60 
gentlemen,  contributing  £60  each.  Amongst  the  promoters 
were  Alexander  Edgar,  John  Jones,  John  Vaughan,  jun., 
Roger  Watts  (see  p.  65),  Michael  Miller,  Thomas  Symons, 
John  Cave,  Jas.  Laroche,  jun.,  Henry  Cruger,  Wm.  Sedgley, 
Henry  Bright,  Ezekial  Nash,  George  Weare,  George  Daubeny, 
John  Lambert  (Chatterton's  master),  Thomas  Eagles,  Jeremy 
Baker,  Paul  Farr,  and  Thomas  Harris.  Strangely  enough, 
three  prominent  Quakers,  Joseph  Harford,  and  William  and 
Richard  Champion,  figure  in  the  list  of  shareholders.  In 
addition  to  the  share  capital,  the  sum  of  £1,400  was  sub- 
scribed by  various  admirers  of  the  drama.  Some  old  pro- 
perty in  King  Street,  having  gardens  in  the  rear,  together 
with  a  piece  of  ground  belonging  to  the  Coopers'  Company, 
W8LS  purchased  ;  a  design  by  James  Patey,  a  local  architect, 
was  adopted ;  and  the  foundation  stone  of  the  theatre  was 
laid  on  the  30th  November,  1764.  (The  houses  in  King 
Street  were  retained,  the  upper  storeys  being  intended  to 
serve  as  a  dwelling  for  the  manager.)  The  new  place  of 
amusement  was  finished  in  the  spring  of  1766,  at  a  cost  of 
about  £6,000,  when  an  unforeseen  difficulty  presented  itself. 


1764.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTUBT.  365 

The  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  strongly  disapprov- 
ing of  the  stage,  availed  themselves  of  an  Act  passed  in 
1737,  by  which  any  person  acting  in  a  dramatic  piece,  in  an 
unlicensed  theatre,  was  liable  to  be  convicted  as  a  rogue 
and  vagabond ;  and  it  was  intimated  that  the  provisions  of 
the  statute  would  be  rigorously  enforced.  Mr.  Champion, 
the  potter,  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  of  the  Quaker  op- 
position, his  chief  objection  to  a  theatre  being  the  facility 
for  amusement  which  it  offered  to  the  working  classes. 
Another  of  the  dissidents — or  perhaps  Mr.  Champion  him- 
self— produced  a  poem  entitled  "  Bristol  Theatre,*'  printed 
by  the  Quakeress,  Sarah  Farley,  in  which  it  was  affirmed 
that  the  stage  tempted  men  to  break  all  laws,  human  and 
divine,  and  that  the  results  of  establishing  a  theatre  would 
be  to  entice  Bristolians  into  the  paths  of  misery  and  vice  ; 
truth,  trade,  and  industry  would  decay  together;  honest 
men  would  turn  highwaymen ;  and  the  gaol  would  need 
enlargement  to  accommodate  the  horde  of  criminals  and 
debtors  who  would  clamour  for  food  at  its  portal !  To  avoid 
the  penalties  of  the  law,  the  manager  resorted  to  a  shift 
that  had  been  invented  by  Foote  in  London;  and  the 
theatre  was  opened  on  the  30th  May,  1766,  with  what  was 
styled  "  A  Concert  of  Musick  and  a  Specimen  of  Ehetorick  *' 
— the  concert  being  simply  the  ordinary  performances  of 
the  orchestra,  and  the  rhetoric  (professedly  offered  "gratis"), 
the  comedy  of  "  The  Conscious  Lovers ''  and  the  farce  of 
"  The  Miller  of  Mansfield."  The  net  receipts  (£63)  were 
presented  to  the  Infirmary.  An  opening  address  was 
written  by  Garrick,  who  declared  the  theatre  to  be,  for  its 
dimensions,  the  most  complete  in  Europe.  (Its  semicircular 
auditorium    was   the   first  constructed   in   England.)     The 

f proprietors  then  took  measures  to  obtain  letters  patent 
egalising  the  theatre,  which  the  Crown  was  unable  to  grant 
without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  Obstinate  opposition 
was  offered  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  this  and  similar 
measures  for  other  towns,  and  the  necessary  Act  was  not 
passed  until  1778.  Immediately  afterwards  the  royal  license 
was  granted  to  George  Daubeny,  the  nominee  of  the  pro- 
prietors, who  paid  £275  for  the  letters  patent.  From  its 
opening  to  the  close  of  the  century,  the  theatre  was  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  in  the  provinces.  A  Londoner,  writing 
in  1792,  remarked  that  "  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
100  carriages  at  the  doors  "  of  the  house.  Every  great 
actor  of  the  time,  Garrick  excepted,  appeared  upon  its 
boards ;  and  some  distinguished  players  were  indebted  to 


863  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1764* 

it  for  their  early  training.  The  ordinary  charges  were : — 
boxes,  3s,  6d. ;  pit,  2s. ;  gallery,  Is.  6d.  The  performances 
commenced  at  half-pa>st  six  ;  and  in  some  of  the  early  play 
bills  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  requested  ^'  to  send  their 
servants  at  5  o'clock  to  keep  places.''  Although  the  house 
was  open  only  about  three  months  during  the  summer,  the 
rent  was  £300  per  annum.  The  original  proprietors  each 
received  a  sUver  medal,  entitling  the  holder  and  his  assigns 
to  admission  to  the  house  in  perpetuity.  These  tokens  were 
frequently  sold,  and  in  the  prosperous  days  of  the  theatre 
were  worth  £30  each.  On  one  occasion  a  medal  was  disposed 
of  by  raffle,  but  the  lessee  of  the  house,  alleging  that  the 
ticket  was  a  counterfeit,  refused  the  winner  admission.  The 
latter — a  High  Street  silk  mercer  named  David — thereupon 
applied  for  advice  to  Mr.  Henry  Davis,  a  sharp  attorney 
(brother  to  Mr.  R.  Hart  Davis,  afterwards  M.P.).  The  lawyer 
obtained  the  medal  from  his  client,  and  three  years  later  he 
sent  him  in  a  bill  of  16  guineas,  for  "  many  attendances  at 
the  theatre  to  assert  your  right "  (R.  Smith's  MSS.). 

In  the  autobiography  of  Bishop  Newton  is  an  account  of 
an  incident  which  must  have  occurred  between  September, 
1764,  when  Henry  Swymmer  became  mayor,  and  the  fall  of 
the  Grenville  Ministry  in  July,  1765.  The  bishop  being  in 
London,  the  mayor  made  a  journey  to  town  to  complain  to 
him  of  the  steps  that  were  being  taken  "  for  opening  a  Mass 
House  at  the  Hot  Wells  under  the  protection  of  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk."  The  alarmed  bishop,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Primate,  forthwith  applied  to  Mr.  Grenville,  who  promised 
to  prevent  a  violation  of  the  law,  but  advised  a  previous 
resort  to  persuasion.  Bishop  Newton  accordingly  convened 
a  meeting  of  civic  officials  at  the  mayor's  house  in  Bristol, 
at  which  the  resident  Romanist  priest  (Father  Scudamore) 
and  the  proprietor  of  the  house  intended  for  a  chapel  were 
also  present.  The  two  latter  were  admonished  that  their 
action  was  illegal,  that  their  conduct  was  the  more  pro- 
voking inasmuch  as  their  buUding  stood  upon  Church  land, 
being  leased  under  the  dean  and  chapter,  and  that  the}'^ 
already  had  been  allowed  "  a  private  Mass  House  in  Bristol, 
where  this  same  priest  had  officiated  many  years."  The 
opening  of  a  public  chapel  in  so  frequented  a  place  was 
declared  to  be  too  contemptuous  a  defiance  of  the  law  to 
be  permitted  by  the  Government,  who,  if  they  persisted, 
would  prosecute  them  with  the  utmost  rigour.  The  ad- 
monition had  the  desired  effect,  the  culprits  begging  the 
bishop's  pardon,  and  promising  that  their  design  should  be 


1765.]  IN   THE    BIQHTEENTH    CENTURY.  367 

for  ever  abandoned.  Dr.  Newton  concludes  by  observing 
that  they  were  as  good  as  their  word.  "  Only  a  bastard 
kind  of  poperj',  Methodism,  has  troubled  Bristol  since  that 
time." 

Unusual  enterprise  is  visible  at  this  period  in  the  local 
coaching  trade.  In  the  summer  of  1764  a  coach  to  Exeter 
was  started,  which,  setting  out  early  in  the  morning  from 
the  George  inn  at  Temple  Gate,  succeeded  in  accomplishing 
a  journey  of  under  77  miles  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following 
day.  The  fare  was  a  guinea.  On  the  30th  March,  1766,  it 
was  announced  that  another  public  vehicle  would  reach 
Exeter  **  in  one  day,''  starting  at  4  a.m.,  *'  the  first  attempt 
of  the  kind  ever  set  on  foot  in  this  city.''  The  adventure 
was  unprofitable,  for  the  two-days  coach  alone  held  the  road 
in  subsequent  years.  In  April,  1766,  a  summer  coach  to 
Birmingham  made  its  first  appearance.  It  set  off  from  the 
Lamb  inn,  Broadmead,  twice  a  week,  at  4  in  the  morning, 
and  reached  its  destination  at  noon  on  the  following  day. 
This  enterprise  stirred  up  the  owners  of  the  old  Gloucester 
coach,  who  gave  notice  that  its  "  flying  "  journeys  over  34 
miles  of  road  would  be  performed  in  the  surprisingly  short 
period  of  ten  hours ! 

Although  a  stately  house  had  been  built  for  the  reception 
of  the  City  Library,  the  old  theological  works  given  by 
Archbishop  Mathew  offered  no  attraction  to  the  inhabitants, 
and  successive  librarians  turned  the  building  to  their  own 
advantage.  By  some  the  house  was  let  to  private  persons. 
Mr.  Benjamin  Donn,  the  librarian  in  1766,  resolved  to  estab- 
lish a  mathematical  school  in  the  premises  {Bristol  Journal^ 
April  20th).  In  the  following  year  the  library  was  increased 
by  a  bequest  of  several  hundred  volumes  by  Mr.  John 
Heylyn,  of  College  Green,  a  collateral  descendant  of  Dr. 
Peter  Heylyn ;  but  the  books  remained  unpacked  for  some 
years,  and  Mr.  Donn's  office  continued  a  sinecure.  A  con- 
temporary note  states  that  not  more  than  two  or  three 
persons  visited  the  library  in  a  twelvemonth,  and  these  were 
generally  strangers.  In  1769  Mr.  Donn  published  a  beauti- 
fully-executed map  of  the  environs  of  the  city,  for  which 
the  Council  complimented  him  with  a  gift  of  20  guineas. 

During  a  visit  to  Bath,  in  October,  1766,  the  Dukes  of 
York  and  Gloucester,  brothers  of  George  III.,  honoured  Lord 
Botetourt  by  spending  a  few  days  at  Stoke  House,  Stapleton. 
On  the  14th  they  attended  a  civic  ball  at  the  Assembly 
Room,  Prince's  Street,  which  was  opened  by  the  Duke  of 
York  and  Miss  Baugh,  daughter  of  the  mayor.     In  the  fol- 


868  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL     :  [1765. 

lowing  year  the  Duke  of  York  resided  some  time  at  Clifton 
for  the  purpose  of  drinking  the  Hot  Well  water.  The  prince 
died  in  1767. 

During  the  year  176B,  Mr.  William  Champion,  whose 
scheme  for  a  floating  harbour  has  been  recorded,  constructed 
a  large  dock  for  repairing  ships  on  the  bank  of  the  Avon, 
near  Rowuham.  The  adventure  proved  unfortunate,  and 
the  place,  commonly  known  as  the  Great  Dock,  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Merchants'  Society  in  1770  for  £1,420.  The 
premises,  with  "  the  little  dock ''  adjoining,  were  advertised 
to  be  let  in  May,  1772.  Subsequently,  a  plan  for  deepening 
the  large  dock,  to  enable  it  to  accommodate  large  vessels, 
was  approved  and  carried  out  by  the  Society,  and  Parlia- 
mentary powers  were  obtained  in  1776  to  enlarge  the  dock 
and  erect  warehouses.  The  additional  outlay  is  stated  in 
the  Bush  MSS.  to  have  been  £  1  ,B00.  A  local  pamphlet  pub- 
lished in  1790  stated  that  *'the  dock is  capable  of  con- 
taining 36  of  the  largest  ships  belonging  to  the  port and 

it  has  never  yet  been  completely  filled/^ 

The  progress  of  the  new  Bristol  Bridge  forced  the  Corpora- 
tion to  consider  the  crying  necessity  of  farther  improvements 
for  facilitating  trafhc  in  the  narrow  and  crowded  thorough- 
fares of  the  city.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  December 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  scheme  to  be  laid 
before  Parliament,  and  its  recommendations  were  adopted  at 
another  meeting  in  February,  1766.  The  suggestions,  the 
comprehensiveness  of  which  astounded  conservative-minded 
citizens,  included  the  removal  of  Lawford's  Gate,  the  demo- 
lition of  ten  adjoining  houses  in  order  to  widen  the  road  ; 
the  widening  of  the  narrow  lanes  connecting  Christmas 
Street  with  Broadmead  ;  the  destruction  of  ten  dwellings  so 
as  to  broaden  Blind  Steps,  between  Nicholas  and  Baldwin 
Streets;  the  removal  of  Small  Street  Gate  and  adjoining 
buildings;  the  taking  down  of  St.  Leonard's  Church  and 
vicarage,  which  blocked  the  western  end  of  Corn  Street; 
and  the  clearing  away  of  a  number  of  hovels  around  Newgate 
gaol,  which,  owing  to  the  increased  number  of  prisoners  and 
the  want  of  ventilation,  was  stated  to  be  frequently  scourged 
by  disease.  Minor  improvements  were  also  proposed  in  other 
thoroughfares,  and  the  widening  of  the  road  to  the  Hot  Well 
formed  another  detail  of  the  plan.  But  its  crowning  feature 
remains  to  be  mentioned.  In  order  to  open  a  commodious 
approach  to  the  Bridge  from  the  eastern  and  northern  parts 
of  the  city,  the  committee  recommended  the  destruction  of 
the  whole  of  the  Shambles  and  Bull  Lane,  and  the  erection 


1766.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  369 

on  their  site  (under  the  direction  of  the  Bridge  trustees)  of  a 
handsome  street  (Bridge  Street),  the  formation  of  another 
street  (Dolphin  Street)  from  the  east  end  of  the  new  tho- 
roughfare to  "Wine  Street,  involving  the  removal  of  St, 
Peter's  Cross  and  Pump,  and  of  a  quantity  of  old  property 
in  Dolphin  Lane  and  Peter  Street ;  and  finally  the  making 
(by  the  Corporation)  of  a  new  street,  40  feet  wide  (Union 
Street),  from  Wine  Street  to  Broadmead,  which  would  neces- 
sitate the  sweeping  away  of  numerous  buildings  standing  on 
the  proposed  roadway.  The  committee  added  that  another 
great  improvement  had  been  brought  before  them — a  new 
street  from  Corn  Street  to  the  Drawbridge — which  they 
admitted  would  be  "  very  ornamental  and  of  great  utility  *' ; 
but  64  houses  and  cellars  then  stood  on  the  ground,  and 
owing  to  the  great  outlay  involved,  they  advised  the  Cham- 
ber to  decline  this  responsibility.  To  encourage  private 
persons  to  undertake  the  work,  however,  powers  for  its  exe- 
cution were  included  in  the  Bill.  A  scheme  for  a  new  street 
from  Stoke 's  Croft  to  an  intended  square  (Cumberland  Street 
and  Brunswick  Square)  was  dealt  with  in  a  similar  manner. 
It  was  further  determined  to  insert  clauses  in  the  Bill  to 
remedy  defects  in  previous  Acts ;  to  require  the  streets  to  be 
lighted  throughout  the  year ;  to  remove  projecting  signs ; 
to  compel  the  erection  of  water-spouts;  to  improve  the  system 
of  scavenging,  paving,  etc.  The  Bill  embodied  all  the  above 
suggestions,  with  the  exception  of  that  authorising  the  re- 
moval of  St.  Leonard's  Church,  some  hitch  having  occurred 
with  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  A  few  weeks  later  (when 
the  difficulty  was  overcome  by  the  incumbent  being  pro- 
mised the  incumbency  of  St.  John's),  the  Corporation  prayed 
for  the  insertion  of  the  omitted  item,  stating  that  the  bishop 
had  sanctioned  the  union  of  the  parish  with  that  of  St. 
Nicholas.  The  request  was  acceded  to,  and  the  Bill  received 
the  Royal  Assent  in  May. 

Considering  the  responsibilities  thus  assumed,  one  might 
supjx)se  that  the  Council  would  have  had  neither  leisure  nor 
relish  for  additional  obligations.  Nevertheless,  having  re- 
ceived a  memorial  from  certain  clothiers  and  traders  of 
Wiltshire,  praying  that  it  would  undertake  to  extend  the 
inland  navigation  of  the  port  of  Bristol,  the  Chamber  bravely 
resolved  to  apply  to  -Parliament  for  powers  to  make  the 
Avon  navigable  to  Chippenham,  under  the  direction  of  the 
mayor  and  aldermen.  The  scheme,  however,  came  to  a 
speedy  end.  The  Council  minutes  of  February  Bth,  1766, 
contain  the  following  entry:   "It  appearing  to  the  House 

B  B 


370  THE   ANNABB   OP   BRISTOL  [1766. 

that  several  indecent  and  ungenteel  resolutions  have  been 
lately  agreed  upon  at  a  meeting  held  at  Melksham,  highly 
reflecting  on  the  undertaking... it  is  resolvfed  that  the 
[previous]  order  be  discharged.'^ 

The  Hon.  Daines  Harrington  having  resigned  the  recorder- 
ship,  the  office  was  conferred,  in  February,  1766,  upon  John 
Dunning,  who  had  just  gained  lasting  fame  for  his  arguments 
against  the  legality  of  general  warrants  in  the  case  of  John 
Wilkes.  Dunning  would  have  attained  the  office  of  Lord 
Chancellor  in  1782,  but  for  the  obstinate  resistance  of 
George  III.  As  a  consolation,  he  was  created  a  peer  under 
the  title  of  Baron  Ash  burton,  whereupon  the  Common 
Council  requested  him  to  sit  for  his  picture,  "  to  be  placed  in 
the  Council  Chamber,  as  a  testimony  of  the  very  great  re- 
spect which  this  Corporation  bears  to  his  lordship."  The 
picture,  one  of  the  treasures  of  the  Council  House,  was 
painted  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  who  received  100  guineas 
for  it.  The  portrait  is  a  triumph  of  art,  for  the  great  lawyer 
was  remarkably  ugly.  Lord  Thurlow  once  stated  that  his 
countenance  closely  resembled  the  knave  of  spades. 

As  has  been  already  recorded,  the  mayors  of  Bristol,  by 
ancient  custom,  were  severally  entitled  to  nominate  one 
person  to  the  freedom  of  the  city  without  payment  of  a 
line.  The  privilege  for  some  reason  became  unpopular,  and 
the  Chamber  abolished  it  in  February,  1766,  but  ordered 
that  the  sum  of  40  guineas  should  be  paid  to  each  future 
mayor,  and  to  each  past  mayor  who  had  failed  to  nominate, 
in  compensation  for  the  abrogated  right.  Several  ex-mayors 
claimed  the  prescribed  equivalent. 

The  policy  of  the  Government  in  1766  in  imposing  taxa- 
tion on  the  American  colonists,  and  the  menacing  protests 
offered  by  the  latter  against  this  stretch  of  power,  excited 
great  anxiety  in  the  local  mercantile  community.  The 
Society  of  Merchants  and  many  shipowners  and  commercial 
firms  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons  in  1766,  urging  the 
great  benefit  derived  from  the  trade  with  the  colonies,  and 
the  serious  consequences  likely  to  flow  from  the  discontent 
of  the  settlements.  The  Corporation  did  not  co-operate  in 
this  movement.  It  may  have  been  embarrassed  by  the 
compliment  it  had  paid  to  the  Premier,  Mr.  Grenville, 
shortly  before  the  production  of  his  Stamp  scheme,  in  pre- 
senting him  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  for  what  was 
termed  his  *'  steady  attention  to  the  promotion  and  security 
of  commerce.'^  This  step  was  doubtless  taken  at  the 
instance  of  Mr.  Nugent,  M.P.,  who  had  remained  in  office 


1766.]  IN    THB   IIOHTEENTH    CENTURY.  371 

on  the  fall  of  the  Newcastle  Ministry,  and  so  strongly  sup- 
ported Grenville  in  his  American  policy  that  he  would  have 
been  burnt  in  effigy  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  July,  1765, 
if  the  authorities  had  not  interfered.  Nugent  was  dis- 
missed from  his  place  when  Lord  Rockingham  became 
Premier.  The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  which  followed, 
gratified  the  mercantile  interest,  and  the  Corporation  ordered 
the  bells  to  be  rung  when  the  change  of  poficy  was  accom- 
plished. At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Merchants  in 
September,  a  letter  was  ordered  to  be  sent  by  the  master 
(William  Reeve)  to  Lord  Rockingham,  expressing  the 
company's  grateful  and  unanimous  sense  of  nis  lordship's 
eminent  services,  especially  in  securing  the  abrogation  of 
an  Act  "  injudicious  and  detrimental  to  the  colonies  as  well  as 
to  the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the  mother  country.''  The 
letter  is  said  to  have  been  drafted  by  Richard  Champion, 
the  china  maker,  though  he  did  not  become  a  member  of 
the  company  until  1767,  when  he  paid  a  fine  for-  admission 
of  £150. 

Evidence  as  to  the  character  of  the  vessels  in  which  the 
West  Indian  trade  was  carried  on  is  furnished  by  petitions 
presented  to  Parliament  in  1766  by  the  merchants  of 
Bristol  and  Liverpool.  These  documents  expressed  appre- 
hension that  the  commerce  with  the  islands  would  be 
**  much  injured,  if  not  entirely  ruined,"  by  an  Act  of  the 
previous  year,  prohibiting  the  import  and  export  of  rum  in 
vessels  of  less  than  100  tons  burden,  and  praying  that  the 
restriction  should  be  applied  only  to  ships  of  under  70  tons. 
No  action  followed,  and  the  transatlantic  voyages  of  many 
Lilliputian  barques  came  to  an  end. 

The  increasing  demand  for  dwelling  houses  within  the  city 
led  to  the  offer  for  sale,  in  March,  1766,  of  the  Bowling 
Green  House  in  St.  James's  Barton,  and  the  billiard  room 
and  bowling  green  attached  to  it.  The  green,  a  popular 
place  of  recreation,  had  a  frontage  of  184  feet  in  Montagu 
Street.  A  few  weeks  later  John  Berkeley,  "  of  the  Coffee 
Pot  in  St.  James's  Barton,"  announced  that  he  had  put  the 
bowling  green  in  excellent  order.  This  is  the  latest  mention 
of  the  green,  which  fell  soon  afterwards  into  the  hands  of 
some  speculative  builder,  who  erected  the  sordid  dwellings 
now  covering  the  site. 

Disputes  in  reference  to  wages  were  never  recorded  by 
the  timid  newsmongers  of  the  time,  but  occasional  infor- 
mation is  obtained  from  advertisements.  Thus,  in  the 
Bristol  Journal  of  the  29th  March,  we  read : — "  The  master 


872  THE    ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL  [1766. 

of  the  Company  of  Carpenters  having  received  a  paper 
signed  by  a  number  of  journeymen,  desiring  their  wages 
to  be  advanced  to  12^.  a  week... the  said  Company  has  re- 
solved that  every  master  should  pay  them  according 
to  what  they  earned  or  deserved,  and  no  more."  (The 
orders  of  the  county  magistrates,  applying  to  Clifton  and 
other  suburbs,  and  fixing  carpenters'  wages  at  Is.  2d.  per 
day,  were  still  in  force.) 

One  of  the  schemes  embraced  in  the  great  city  improve- 
ment Act  of  1766  was  started  before  that  measure  became 
law.  Fdix  Farley^ s  Journal  of  April  19th  stated  that  "  the 
plan  for  building  a  handsome  street  from  just  below  the 
Full  Moon  was  put  iu  execution  Wednesday  last  by  be- 
ginning the  first  house.  The  street  is  to  run  back  through 
the  gardens,  and  at  the  further  end  of  it  will  be  built  a 
most  elegant  square."  The  street  received  the  name  of 
Cumberland  in  honour  of  one  of  the  king's  brothers,  and 
the  thoroughfare  connecting  it  with  Milk  Street  was  for 
a  similar  reason  dignified  with  the  name  of  York.  The 
first  house  in  Brunswick  Square,  another  loyal  appellation, 
was  begun  in  1769,  but  the  supply  of  new  dwellings  in  the 
district  already  exceeded  the  demand.  The  eastern  row 
of  the  square  was  deferred  for  nearly  twenty  years,  while 
half  the  western  and  the  whole  of  the  northern  rows 
were  never  built  at  all.  At  an  early  date,  indeed,  the  pro- 
moters demised  a  large  plot  of  land  to  a  body  of  trustees 
acting  for  the  congregation  of  Lewin's  Mead  Chapel,  who 
converted  it  into  a  cemetery.  The  first  interment  there 
took  place  in  October,  1768.  The  rural  character  of  the 
locality  may  be  imagined  from  the  terms  of  an  advertisement 
in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  February  16th,  1772.  A  house, 
"  adjoining  Brunswick  Square,"  was  offered  to  be  let,  *'  with 
a  prospect  of  two  miles  from  the  ground  floor." 

A  silk  manufactory  existed  in  Bristol  at  this  time.  Felix 
Farley^ s  Journal  of  the  24th  May,  1766,  records  that,  a  few 
days  before,  "  the  workmen  employed  in  the  silk  manu- 
factory in  this  city  and  its  environs  assembled  at  the  Bull 
tavern  in  High  Street,  where  they  illuminated  the  windows 
and  gave  other  public  testimonies  of  joy  for  the  stop  put  to 
the  importation  of  foreign  silk."  Another  extinct  industry 
is  incidentally  mentioned  by  the  Journal  in  reporting  the 
death,  through  drowning,  of  a  man  near  Temple  Backs, 
whUst  placing  his  "  fishing  pots  "  in  the  Avon.  Before  the 
construction  of  the  floating  harbour  immense  quantities  of 
young  eels,  called  elvers,  were  yearly  caught  in  the  river. 


1766.]  IN    THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTUKY.  t573 

About  this  period,  Miss  Hannah  More,  when  in  her  twenty- 
third  year,  received  an  offer  of  marriage  from  Mr.  William 
Turner,  of  Belmont,  near  Wraxall,  a  gentleman  of  large 
fortune,  but  nearly  twenty  years  her  senior.  Having 
accepted  the  proposal.  Miss  More  renounced  her  share 
in  the  Park  Street  school,  and  made  preparations  to 
take  her  expected  position  in  fashionable  society.  Mr. 
Turner,  however,  was  a  man  of  peculiar  disposition,  and 
although  he  twice  or  thrice  fixed  a  day  for  the  marriage, 
he  on  each  occasion  postponed  the  event  in  a  manner  tend- 
ing to  cast  ridicule  upon  the  young  lady.  After  the  curious 
courtship  had  extended  over  six  years.  Miss  More's  sisters 
refused  to  allow  her  to  be  further  trifled  with,  and  the 
engagement  was  broken  off,  to  the  regret  of  the  vacillating 
lover,  who  proposed  to  redeem  his  conduct  by  settling  a 
large  annuity  on  his  lost  bride  to  enable  her  to  live  in  inde- 
pendence. Miss  More  was  at  length  induced  to  accept  a 
settlement  of  £200  a  year  for  life,  and  turned  her  attention 
to  literature.  Her  first  work,  "  The  Search  after  Happiness : 
a  pastoral  drama,"  published  in  1773,  achieved  a  great 
success,  and  she  was  speedily  admitted  into  the  first  literary 
society  of  the  day,  having  the  good  fortune  to  be  admired 
and  flattered  by  its  autocrat.  Dr.  Johnson.  Miss  More's 
friendship  with  Mrs.  Garrick,  with  whom  she  spent  several 
months  yearly,  led  to  the  production  of  her  tragedy  of 
"  Percy,"  in  1778,  for  whicn  Garrick  wrote  the  prologue 
and  epilogue,  and  which  had  a  long  and  prosperous  "run." 
After  writing  another  tragedy,  she  ceased  to  consider  the 
stage  as  "  becoming  the  countenance  of  a  Christian,"  and 
her  numerous  subsequent  works  were  of  a  religious  character. 
Of  one  of  them,  "  The  Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain,"  upwards 
of  a  million  copies  are  said  to  have  been  printed,  and  by  her 
entire  writings  Miss  More  was  estimated  to  have  realised 
over  £30,000.  When  at  the  height  of  her  reputation,  she 
had  a  second  amatory  flirtation  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lang- 
home,  rector  of  Blagdon,  then  a  poet  of  some  repute,  but 
whose  intemperate  habits  soon  ended  the  affair.  Her  old 
lover,  who  remained  her  admirer  through  life,  eventually 
bequeathed  her  a  legacy  of  £1,000. 

Although  the  improvement  Act  of  this  year  marked  a 
growing  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  the  city,  the  civic 
authorities  had  occasional  relapses  into  superannuated  ideas. 
Bridewell  Bridge,  a  wooden  structure  connecting  St.  James's 
parish  with  the  quays,  having  been  reported  ruinous,  it 
was  resolved  in  May  to  replace  it  by  "  a  substantial  stone 


374  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1766. 

bridge,"  the  width  of  which  was  fixed  at  8  feet  6  inches ! 
The  edifice  cost  £55. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  7th  June,  Sir  William 
Draper,  K.B.,  who,  amongst  other  distinguished  services, 
had  commanded  the  English  forces  at  the  capture  of  Manilla 
in  1763,  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city.  Sir 
William,  whose  father  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Bristol 
Custom-house,  occupied  a  large  mansion  at  Clifton,  and 
decorated  the  ground  in  front  of  it  with  a  cenotaph  to  the 
memory  of  his  companions  in  arms  of  the  79th  regiment, 
and  with  a  pyramidical  column  in  honour  of  Lord  Chatham, 
of  whom  he  was  a  devoted  admirer.  The  latter  work  was 
to  have  borne  a  pompous  adulatory  inscription,  which  at 
Chatham's  entreaties  was  omitted.  (It  was  however  en- 
graved on  the  monument  after  its  recent  removal  to  Clifton 
Down.)  Another  of  Draper's  idols  was  the  Duke  of  Grafton, 
whom  he  was  venturesome  enough  to  defend  against  the 
attacks  of  ''  Junius."  The  results  were  disastrous,  Draper 
being  so  trampled  in  literary  mud  and  held  up  to  public 
ridicule  that  he  fled  to  America  to  conceal  his  mortification. 
Sir  William  eventually  died  at  Bath  on  the  8th  January, 
1787. 

The  meeting  of  the  civic  body  on  June  7th  initiated  a 
remarkable,  not  to  say  scandalous,  transaction  in  reference 
to  two  of  the  endowed  schools  entrusted  to  the  Corporation 
by  philanthropic  founders.  The  Grammar  School  was  then 
settled  in  the  old  buildings  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital, 
near  the  bottom  of  Christmas  Steps,  expressly  purchased  for 
that  purpose  by  the  executors  of  Robert  Thorno.  A  good 
playground  was  attached  to  the  premises,  on  which  several 
hundred  pounds  had  been  laid  out  in  improvements  in  1751)- 
60,  when  the  place,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  age,  was 
deemed  in  every  way  suitable  for  the  purposes  of  a  da}'- 
school.  In  1764,  however,  on  the  preferment  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Seyer  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Michael,  the  head- 
mastership  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  Charles  Lee,  who 
soon  afterwards  won  the  affections  of  the  only  daughter  of 
Alderman  Dampier,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Council ;  and 
this  apparently  insignificant  event  was  destined  to  have  un- 
foreseen results.  The  original  parent  of  the  design  about  to 
be  described  cannot  now  be  identified.  Mr.  Leo  may  have 
pined  for  a  more  imposing  abode,  with  more  agreeable  sur- 
roundings. Miss  Dampier  or  her  worshipful  parent  may 
have  thought  dingy  premises  in  a  vulgar  street  an  unsuit- 
able residence  for  a  young  lady  brought  up  in  the  aristo- 


17G6.]  IN  THE  KIGHTEBNTH  CENTURY.  375 

cratic  air  of  College  Green.  In  any  case,  Alderman  Dampier 
became  the  prime  mover  in  a  scheme  designed  for  the  benefit 
of  his  future  son  in  law.  The  affair  was  put  in  motion  with 
great  astuteness.  At  the  meeting  already  referred  to,  some 
one  proposed  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  consider 
what  additions  should  be  made  to  the  Grammar  School  **  for 
the  better  accommodation,"  not  of  the  master,  but  "  of  the 
scholars.''  The  motion  was  adopted,  and  Mr.  Dampier  and 
a  few  other  gentlemen  were  nominated  to  make  the  inquiry. 
A  month  later  the  committee  reported,  as  the  result  of  their 
deliberations,  that  "  it  would  be  a  great  public  benefit  if  the 
masters  and  scholars  belonging  to  the  Grammar  School  were 
removed  to  the  building  called  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital, 
and  the  master  and  boys  belonging  to  that  hospital  removed 
to  the  Grammar  School."  It  is  scarcely  possible  that  dis- 
interested members  of  the  Chamber  can  have  really  ap- 
proved of  this  proposal.  The  Corporation,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  had  given  the  buildings  of  St.  Mark's  Hospital  to 
be  "  for  ever  "  used  by  the  boys  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hos- 
pital. The  stately  premises  near  College  Green  had  been 
erected  by  subscription  in  1703,  on  the  suggestion  of  Colston, 
who  had  given  £oOO  for  the  purpose,  expressly  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  boys  of  the  hospital ;  and  the  removal 
of  the  boarding-school  to  a  less  healthy  locality  in  order  to 
convert  its  property  into  a  day-school  for  boys  of  a  wealthier 
class  was  an  obvious  and  flagrant  breach  of  trust.  It  was 
nevertheless  resolved  "  that  the  committee  be  empowered  to 
do  therein  as  they  shall  think  proper."  On  the  6th  Sep- 
tember they  accordingly  presented  another  report.  The 
Grammar  School  premises,  they  alleged,  were  not  spacious 
enough  to  accommodate  all  the  day  scholars  whose  parents 
were  desirous  of  a  home  education  for  their  boys,  while  they 
were  "  fit  for  all  the  purposes  "of  the  boarding-school.  The 
College  Green  buildings,  on  the  other  hand,  would  "  accom- 
modate more  than  twice  the  number  of  young  gentlemen  " 
then  in  the  Grammar  School.  Unfortunately  an  Act  of 
Parliament,  passed  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  had  confirmed 
the  Corporation's  donation  of  St.  Mark's  to  Carr's  school 
"  for  ever,"  and  various  subsequent  bequests  had  been 
specifically  made  to  the  hospital  near  College  Green.  But 
the  committee  thought  it  was  indifferent  in  what  part  of 
the  town  the  charitable  purposes  of  the  school  were  "  effec- 
tuated "  providing  the  endowments  were  properly  applied, 
and  they  therefore  recommended  that  the  sanction  of  Par- 
liament should  be  obtained  for  carrying  out  the  proposed 


376  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  ,     [1766. 

exchange.  The  Chamber  not  only  confirmed  this  report, 
but  coolly  ordered  "  that  the  said  exchange  do  take  place 
immediately."  On  the  3rd  November  it  was  resolved  that 
alterations  should  be  made  "in  the  building  lately  called 
Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital ''  to  fit  it  for  the  master  and 
boys  of  the  Grammar  School,  Messrs.  Dampier  and  Laroche 
bemg  charged  with  the  direction  of  the  work.  In  May, 
1767,  the  chamberlain's  accounts  contain  this  item :  "  Paid 
for  bricks  used  at  the  late  hospital  called  Queen  Elizabeth's, 
now  the  Grammar  School,  £28  145."  A  few  weeks  later 
there  is  a  charge  of  £51  6s,  6d,  for  "altering  the  late 
Grammar  School  for  the  reception  of  the  city  blue  boys, 
removed  there."  Other  similar  disbursements  occurred 
about  the  same  time,  the  aggregate  outlay  exceeding  £725. 
The  respective  schools  having  exchanged  places  in  the 
spring  01  1767,  and  the  mansion  in  St.  Mark's  having  been 
ouly  swept  and  garnished,  on  the  7th  January,  1768,  the 
head-master's  happiness  was  crowned  by  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Dampier.  About  a  twelvemonth  later,  the  Council 
resolved  to  apply  to  Parliament  for  power  to  alter  the  times 
of  holding  the  great  fairs,  and  the  opportunity  was  seized  to 
carry  out  the  suggestion  of  the  schools'  committee.  The 
framers  of  the  Bill  had  the  effronter}'  to  make  it  allege  that 
an  exchange  of  schools  would  be  of  reciprocal  advantage  to 
the  two  institutions,  but  that  this  could  not  be  done  without 
the  authority  of  Parliament ;  and  the  measure  went  on  to 
enact  that  the  Corporation,  "  from  and  after  "  the  passing  of 
the  Act,  should  be  empowered  to  remove  the  respective 
schools,  and  to  vest  the  building  at  St.  Bartholomew's  in 
the  governors  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  and  that  at  St. 
Mark's  in  the  governors  of  the  Grammar  School.  The  Act 
having  passed,  the  Council  played  the  final  scene  of  a  solemn 
farce  on  the  6th  May,  1769 — two  years  after  the  revolution 
had  taken  place — by  ordering  that  the  master  and  scholars 
of  the  Grammar  School  "do  immediately  remove"  to  College 
Green,  and  that  the  master  and  scholars  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's Hospital  "  do  immediately "  betake  themselves  to 
Christmas  Street  I  A  few  words  will  suffice  to  prove  the 
falseness  of  the  assertion  that  the  exchange  of  schools  would 
prove  beneficial  to  the  citizens.  Lee  held  his  office  for 
forty-seven  years.  Being  permitted  to  take  boarders,  who 
paid  him  well,  he  discouraged  the  attendance  of  Bristol 
Doys,  whose  fees  were  low,  and  he  eventually  succeeded  in 
getting  rid  of  them  altogether.  The  average  number  of 
city   pupils  under  former  masters  was   about  a  hundred. 


1766.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  377 

For  some  years  before  his  death,  Lee  had  only  one  Bristol 
boy  under  his  tuition — accepted,  it  was  supposed,  to  ^ard 
against  legal  action  as  to  the  shameful  misappropriation  of 
Thorne^s  endowment. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  Bridge  trustees,  on  the  7th 
July,  1766,  it  was  resolved  that  St.  Peter's  Cross  and  Pump 
should  be  removed  "  with  all  expedition,"  and  that  a  new 

f)ump  should  be  erected  in  Peter  Street,  having  "  a  feather 
rom  the  present  well."  The  intended  removal  of  the  Cross, 
which  had  been  renovated  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  came 
to  the  ears  of  Mr.  Henry  Hoare,  who,  thinking  it  a  fitting 
companion  for  its  old  neighbour,  the  High  Cross,  already  in 
his  park  at  Stourhead,  proffered  to  take  it  down  provided 
the  trustees  would  make  him  a  present  of  the  stones.  The 
trustees  accepted  this  proposal  with  alacrity,  giving  Mr. 
Hoare  permission  to  at  once  remove  the  structure.  A  pump 
was  subsequently  placed  in  the  ground  floor  of  a  house  at 
the  corner  of  Peter  and  Dolphin  Streets.  The  gateway  at 
Newgate  was  partially  demolished  about  the  same  time,  tho 
gate  itself,  as  well  as  two  interesting  medieval  statues  on 
each  side  of  it,  being  removed.  The  figures  were  secured 
by  Mr.  Reeve,  who  placed  them  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
entrance  to  "  Black  Castle." 

The  literary  and  archaeological  fribble,  Horace  Walpole, 
condescended  to  cast  a  glance  upon  Bristol  in  October,  1766, 
during  a  sojourn  at  Batn.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  shortly 
after  leaving  the  latter  town,  he  wrote :  "  My  excursions 
were  very  few... the  city  is  so  guarded  with  mountains.  I 
did  go  to  Bristol,  the  dirtiest  great  shop  I  ever  saw,  with  so 
foul  a  river  that,  had  I  seen  the  least  appearance  of  cleanli- 
ness, I  should  have  concluded  they  washed  all  their  linen  in 
it,  as  they  do  at  Paris.  Going  into  the  town,  I  was  struck 
with  a  large  Gothic  building,  coal  black,  and  striped  with 
wliite  [Black  Castle].  I  took  it  for  the  devil's  cathedral...! 
found  it  was  an  uniform  castle,  lately  built,  and  serving  for 
stables  and  offices  to  a  smart  false  Qt)thic  house  on  the  other 
side  of  the  road.  The  real  cathedral  is  very  neat... There 
is  a  new  church  besides,  of  St.  Nicholas,  neat  and  truly 
Gothic."  (!) 

The  poor  were  suffering  under  almost  unprecedented  dis- 
tress at  this  period,  owing  to  the  dearness  of  bread,  caused 
by  a  bad  harvest.  In  ordinary  years  England  produced 
more  corn  than  could  be  consumed  at  home,  but  an  em- 
bargo was  now  placed  on  exportations.  Vigorous  steps 
were  taken  by  the  Council  for  the  relief  of  poor  Bristolians. 


878  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1766. 

Bounties  were  not  only  offered  on  imported  cargoes  of  com, 
but  all  the  bakers  of  the  city  and  suburbs  were  subsidised. 
The  chamberlain  records : — *'  Paid  sundry  bakers  in  and 
about  the  city  2s.  per  sack  on  2368  sacks  of  flour  baked 
from  the  20th  October  to  the  8th  November,  in  considera- 
tion of  their  making  the  bread  larger  the  the  (sic)  price  of 
com  would  admit  of  at  that  time,  £235  16;5."  This  allow- 
ance being  deemed  insufficient,  it  was  raised  to  bs,  per  sack, 
and  £408  lOs.  were  disbursed  during  the  following  fortnight. 
As  the  money  had  to  be  borrowed,  the  Corporation  aban- 
doned a  system  which  would  have  rapidly  exhausted  its 
resources ;  but  bounties  on  imports  continued  to  be  paid. 
The  country  labourers  attempted  to  prevent  the  removal  of 
corn,  and  violent  rioting  occurred  in  Gloucestershire  and 
Wilts,  for  which  seven  men  were  executed.  The  Chamber 
had  to  provide  "for  22  pensioners  going  to  newnam 
[Newnham]  to  protect  the  corn  and  flour  destined  for 
Bristol."  Altogether  the  Council  expended  over  £800  on 
account  of  the  dearth.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  grist  mills,  the 
Corporation  proposed  to  build  two  or  three  wind-mills,  and 
Brandon  Hill,  where  it  had  been  contemplated  to  erect  an 
astronomical  observatory,  was  selected  for  their  site ;  but 
the  design  was  soon  after  abandoned. 

The  Chamber,  moreover,  had  sympathy  to  spare  for  a 
distant  island,  though  it  may  be  suspected  that  in  this  case 
the  West  India  interest  benevolently  drew  out  of  the  civic 
pocket  what  should  have  come  out  of  its  own.  It  was  re- 
solved in  October  that  100  guineas  be  contributed  "  towards 
relieving  the  unhappy  sufferers  by  a  dreadful  fire  which 
lately  happened  at  Bridgetown,  Barbadoes." 

On  the  fall  of  the  Rockingham  Ministry,  Mr.  Nugent 
(who  had  married  the  Dowager  Countess  of  Berkeley,  and 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  "King's  friends")  was  appointed 
First  Lord  of  Trade,  and  created  an  Irish  peer  under  the 
title  of  Viscount  Clare.  His  seat  was  vacated  by  his  accept- 
ance of  office,  but  he  was  re-elected  in  December,  without 
opposition.  The  usual  copiovis  feasting  followed.  Feliw 
Falrley^s  Journal  of  December  20th  grumbles : — *^  We  are 
credibly  informed  that  in  Trinity  Ward,  out  of  the  four 
houses  opened  for  general  entertainment,  three  of  them 
were  kept  by  people  not  free  of  this  city,  notwithstanding 
there  were  so  many  burgesses  who  ought  to  have  had  the 
preference."  Assuming  that  the  other  wards  were  treated 
with  similar  liberality,  there  must  have  been  forty-eight  inns 
opened  "for  general  entertainment."     Lord  Clare  gained 


1767.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  379 

much  applause  in  courtly  circles  soon  after  this  date  by 
some  verses  he  addressed  to  the  Queen,  accompanied  by  a 
present  of  Irish  poplin. 

On  the  28th  January,  1767,  a  man  calling  himself  Hick- 
son,  and  living  at  Frenchay  in  the  style  of  a  country 
gentleman,  was  arrested  near  Lawlbrd's  Gate,  on  suspicion 
of  having  committed  several  capital  offences.  The  man's 
story,  both  before  and  after  his  apprehension,  would  have 
served  the  author  of  "  Jack  Sheppard  "  for  the  foundation 
of  a  romance.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Worcestershire  farmer 
named  Higgins,  and  had  led,  with  his  brothers,  a  vicious 
life  from  boyhood.  In  1764  he  was  convicted  of  a  robbery 
at  Worcester,  and,  being  sentenced  to  transportation,  was 
shipped  at  Bristol  for  America.  Within  a  month  of  his 
being  sold  there  into  temporary  slavery,  he  broke  into  a 
merchant's  office  at  Boston,  and  stole  sufficient  money  to 
enable  him  to  secure  a  berth  in  a  ship  bound  for  England, 
which  he  reached  within  three  months  of  his  departure. 
He  then  resumed  his  former  career  of  crime  in  Worcester- 
shire ;  but  after  one  of  his  brothers  had  been  hanged  there 
in  1763,  for  returning  from  transportation,  he  removed  into 
Gloucestershire,  and  finally  took  a  mansion  at  Frenchay,  set 
up  a  pack  of  dogs  and  a  stable  of  remarkably  fine  hunting 
horses,  and  lived  in  what  the  Bristol  Journal  termed  "a 
splendid  manner."  Suspicions  having  arisen  that  his 
hunters  were  really  kept  for  the  perpetration  of  highway 
robberies,  he  was  carried  before  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  com- 
mitted for  trial,  and  removed  to  Gloucester.  But  at  the 
April  assizes  no  evidence  as  to  robberies  could  be  obtained 
against  him,  and  as  the  charge  of  returning  from  transpor- 
tation could  be  tried  only  at  Worcester,  the  judge  liberated 
him  upon  two  sureties  of  £60  each.  Higgins  then  retired 
to  Carmarthenshire,  where  he  committed  two  daring  bur- 
glaries before  again  falling  into  the  hands  of  justice.  In 
July  he  was  conveyed  in  irons  to  Worcester,  where  his 
previous  conviction  was  made  clear ;  but  the  Crown  neg- 
lected to  prove  his  shipment  at  Bristol,  and  the  judge 
ordered  his  acquittal.  However,  at  the  following  assizes  at 
Carmarthen  he  was  sentenced  to  death  for  his  latest  crimes. 
Executions  generally  took  place  about  a  week  after  convic- 
tion ;  but  powerful  influences  were  exercised  to  rescue  the 

"  gentleman"  rogue,  an  **  Earl  of "  being  referred  to  in 

the  newspapers  as  especially  active  in  his  behalf.  The 
execution,  repeatedly  postponed,  took  place  in  November — a 
respite  received  a  few  days  before  having  turned  out  to  be 


380  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1767. 

a  forgery.  Higgins's  exploits,  as  magnified  by  tradition,  are 
recorded  in  Mr.  Leech's  "  Brief  Romances  from  Bristol 
History  ;"  but  the  cleverly-told  story  of  the  highwayman's 
presence  at  a  Hot  Well  ball,  and  of  his  subsequent  robbery 
of  a  Bristol  banker  on  the  road  to  London,  is  the  product  of 
a  lively  imagination. 

The  prosperity  of  the  slave  trade,  the  ferocity  of  the  men 
engaged  in  it,  and  the  loss  of  life  it  entailed  are  graphically 
indicated  in  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter  from  Old 
Calabar,  dated  August  12th,  1767,  addressed  by  a  ship  cap- 
tain to  his  employers  at  Liverpool : — **  There  are  now  seven 
vessels  in  the  river,  each  of  which  expects  to  purchase  600 
slaves,  and  I  imagine  there  was  seldom  ever  known  a  greater 
scarcity  of  slaves  than  at  present.  The  natives  are  at 
variance  with  each  other,  and  in  my  opinion  it  will  never 
be  ended  before  the  destruction  of  all  the  people  at  Old 
Town,  who  have  taken  the  lives  of  many  a  fine  fellow.  [It 
will  be  seen  hereafter  that  an  iniquitous  bombardment  of 
the  town  actually  took  place.]  The  river  of  late  has  been 
very  fatal.  There  have  been  three  captains  belonging  to 
Bristol  died  within  these  few  months,  besides  a  number  of 
officers  and  sailors."  The  ships  lay  an  enormous  time  on  the 
pestiferous  coast,  for  the  writer  adds : — **  I  do  not  expect 
that  our  stay  here  will  exceed  eight  months."  In  a  sub- 
sequent report  of  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  it 
is  incidentally  asserted  that  about  1766-7  a  Bristol  slaving 
ship  was  two  years  upon  her  voyage  to  the  West  Indies, 
having  had  to  lie  off  the  African  coast  until  slaves  were 
brought  down  from  the  interior. 

The  harvest  of  1767  was  again  deficient,  and  the  Corpora- 
tion renewed  its  efforts  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the 
E)or.  In  September  £269  were  paid  to  Messrs.  Lloyd, 
Iton,  and  Go,  bankers,  "  the  balance  of  an  account  for 
wheat  and  flower,"  sold  to  the  bakers  below  prime  cost.  In 
November,  at  the  instance  of  Lord  Clare,  who  made  a  hand- 
some donation,  a  cargo  of  6,000  bushels  of  wheat  was  pur- 
cheised  and  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner,  the  Corporation 
contributing  £140.  The  distress  continuing,  the  Council, 
in  July,  1768,  adopted  another  policy,  advancing  £1,000,  free 
of  interest,  to  the  board  of  guardians.  The  money,  which 
had  to  be  borrowed,  was  not  repaid  by  the  guardians  until 
1779. 

The  increase  of  pauperism  caused  by  the  dearth  induced 
the  poor  law  authorities  to  revive  the  odious  law  requiring 
persons  receiving  relief  to  wear  a  badge  of  their  misfortune. 


1767-68.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CBNTaRT,  881 

An  order  of  the  guardians,  dated  September  7th,  required 
every  pauper  to  "  wear  on  the  right  shoulder,  in  an  open  and 
visible  manner,  on  the  uppermost  garment,  a  Badge,  with 
the  initial  letters  of  the  name  "  of  their  parish.  The  church- 
wardens were  liable  to  a  penalty  if  they  gave  relief  to  un- 
badged  persons.  The  unpopular  order  was  rescinded  in 
November,  1773. 

Clifton  Church  being  no  longer  capable  of  accommodating 
the  residents  and  visitors,  the  erection  of  a  south  aisle  was 
begun  in  the  autumn  of  1767.  Although  the  addition  cost 
only  £419,  the  church  was  not  reopened  until  October, 
1768.  Fifteen  persons,  having  subscribed  26  guineas  each, 
were  severally  allotted  pews  in  perpetuity  in  the  new  aisle. 
Sir  William  Draper  and  members  of  the  Goldney,  Elton, 
and  Hobhouse  families  were  amongst  those  contributors. 

In  consequence  of  frequent  prosecutions  of  barbers  for 
shaving  on  Sundays,  "  the  master  and  company  of  barbers 
and  peruke  makers  '^  gave  notice  in  1767  that  they  would 
close  their  shops  on  that  day,  and  warned  recalcitrant 
journeymen  that  the  parish  constables  would  take  note  if 
they  failed  to  attend  divine  service. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  December,  1767,  John 
Berrow,  sheriff  in  1768,  and  son  of  a  mayor  of  the  same 
name,  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Chamber.  "  Being  reduced 
to  very  low  circumstances  by  a  series  of  misfortunes,"  he 
was  granted  a  pension  of  £40  per  annum. 

The  existence  of  a  hitherto  unknown  china  manufactory 
in  Bristol  in  1760  has  been  recorded  under  that  year.  No- 
thing is  known  of  the  history  of  the  place  after  1761,  and 
no  specimens  of  its  productions  are  known  to  exist.  But  a 
porcelain  bowl,  dated  January  9th,  1762,  was  discovered  by 
Mr.  Owen,  F.S.A.,  at  Devizes,  the  owner  of  which  stated 
that  it  was  sent  to  one  of  his  ancestors  by  a  relative  con- 
nected with  a  Bristol  pottery  ;  from  which  it  may  be  inferred 
that  a  factory  was  in  operation  at  that  date.  In  February, 
1766,  Richard  Champion,  writing  to  the  Earl  of  Hyndford,  a 
connection  by  marriage,  who  had  sent  him  some  porcelain 
clay  from  Carolina,  stated  that  he  had  "  had  it  tried  at  a 
manufactory  set  up  here  some  time  ago  on  the  principle  of 
the  Chinese  porcelain,  but  not  being  successful  is  given  up." 
The  works  appear  to  have  been  in  Castle  Green,  and  as 
Champion,  soon  after  he  commenced  china-making,  removed 
his  factory  to  that  place,  he  may  have  availed  himself  of  the 
abandoned  plant.  Champion,  who  was  then  a  merchant 
engaged  in  the  American  trade,  started  the  new  enterprise 


882  THE    ANNALS   OF    fiRISTOL  [1768. 

in  or  about  February,  1768.  His  capital  being  chiefly  en- 
gaged in  commerce,  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  Edward  Brice, 
a  sugar  refiner,  who  advanced  £1,000;  by  Mr.  Joseph  Har- 
ford, iron  merchant,  who  ventured  £3,000;  and  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Winwood,  fruit  merchant,  whose  subscription  is 
unknown.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Joseph  Fry,  chocolate  maker, 
contributed  £1,600,  Mr.  Mark  Harford,  £1,600,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Frank,  grocer,  a  member  of  a  family  of  Bristol 
potters  already  mentioned,  £1,000.  Champion  was  from  the 
outset  closely  connected  with  William  Cookworthy,  who  had 
been  experimenting  at  his  porcelain  factory  at  Plymouth  on 
Cornish  clay,  and  who  was  not  improbably  concerned  in 
the  previous  enterprise  in  Castle  Green,  where  the  same  clay 
was  also  used  (see  p.  286).  He  was  at  all  events  designated 
by  Sarah  Champion  **  the  first  inventor  of  the  Bristol  China 
Works,'-  and  Champion's  productions  were  made,  under 
license,  from  the  Cornish  materials  of  which  Cookworthy 
had  obtained  a  monopoly  by  letters  patent.  In  1770  Cook- 
worthy entered  into  negotiations  with  his  licensee,  which 
resulted  in  the  Plymouth  works  being  abandoned,  their 
proprietor  removing  his  plant  to  Bristol  and  joining 
Champion,  and  the  firm,  from  1771  to  1773,  was  styled 
William  Cookworthy  &  Co.  An  advertisement  in  the 
BriMol  Journal  of  June  10th,  1773,  shows  the  character  of 
the  porcelain  produced  at  this  period  : — **  Complete  Tea  Sets 
in  the  Dresden  taste,  highly  ornamented,  £7  1h.  to  £12  12.s'. 
and  upwards.  Tea  Sets,  43  pieces,  of  various  prices  as  low  as 
£2  2.V.  Cups  and  Saucers  from  3«.  6rf.  to  oh,  6d.  per  half  dozen, 
and  all  other  sorts  of  useful  Ware  proportionately  cheap." 
In  October,  1773,  the  patent  rights  passed  into  Champion's 
hands,  and  Cookworthy's  name  disappeared.  The  works 
soon  afterwards  attained  their  highest  development.  Some 
of  Champion's  productions  were  such  admirable  imitations 
of  Dresden  ware  as  to  deceive  the  skilfullest  connoisseurs ; 
whilst  the  articles  turned  out,  especially  the  vases  and  flower 
plaques,  displaj^ed  singular  artistic  delicacy  and  beauty.  How 
justly  Champion  claimed  for  his  china  the  name  of  "  true 
porcelain "  was  proved  after  the  disastrous  destruction  by 
fire  of  the  Alexandra  Palace,  near  London,  in  1873.  Several 
thousand  specimens  of  English  ceramics,  produced  at  Bow, 
Chelsea  and  Worcester,  were  reduced  to  a  molten  mass.  But 
the  Bristol  China,  being  of  hard  paste,  issued  comparatively 
unscathed,  the  fashions  of  the  figures  and  their  painted 
decorations  remaining  nearly  intact.  In  bringing  the  manu- 
facture to  a  state  of  almost  perfect  excellence  a  heavy  out- 


1768.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  383 

lay  had  been  necessary,  and  in  the  hope  of  securing  an 
ultimate  return  for  his  outlay  and  personal  labour,  Champion, 
in  1775,  applied  to  Parliament  for  an  extension  of  Cook- 
worthy's  patent.  Through  the  wily  manoBUvring  of  Wedg- 
wood, who  had  powerful  friends  amongst  the  peers,  the 
Act  obtained,  however,  was  practically  valueless,  the  opaque 
potters  being  allowed  the  free  use  of  the  Cornish  earths. 
The  cost  of  the  conflict  at  Westminster  was  a  heavy  blow 
to  the  Bristol  works,  ah-eady  seriously  menaced  by  the 
revolt  of  the  American  colonies,  where  Champion  had  ex- 
pected to  find  a  market  for  his  cheaper  products.  In  a  letter 
to  William  Burke,  in  June,  1776,  Champion  described  his 
manufactory  as  *Hhe  greatest  ever  known  in  England,'' 
adding  that  his  capital  was  insufficient  to  make  it  a  thorough 
commercial  success.  "  Bristol  is  not  the  place  to  find  a  man 
of  fortune  and  spirit  to  give  it  its  due  extent,  so  as  to 
supply  the  market.     We  have  no  such  men,  and  to  divide 

it   out  into   shares    I    do    not   like £10,000   additional 

would  make  a  capital  concern."  Money  was  not  to  be  found, 
owing,  perhaps,  to  the  severe  commercial  depression  caused 
by  the  American  war,  Financial  embarrassments  followed, 
and  Wedgwood,  writing  to  a  partner  in  August,  1778,  exult- 
ingly  announced  that  Champion  was  **  quite  demolished," 
and  hoped  that  the  Cornish  material  might  thus  be  got  on 
easy  terms.  The  mean-spirited  joy  was  somewhat  prema- 
ture, for  the  manufactory  in  Castle  Green  was  not  closed  until 
1781,  when  the  patent  rights  were  sold  to  a  Staffordshire 
company,  and  Mr.  Champion  removed  to  Tunstall  to  superin- 
tend the  new  works.  In  the  following  year,  however,  he 
held  for  a  few  months  the  office  of  joint-deputy  paymaster 
of  the  forces,  under  Burke  ;  and  he  again  occupied  that  post 
from  April,  1783,  to  January,  1784.  Further  public  service 
having  become  hopeless,  he  resolved  on  emigrating  with  his 
family  to  America,  and  arrived  in  South  Carolina  in 
December,  1784.  He  died  at  Camden,  in  that  State,  on  the 
7th  October,  1791,  in  his  48th  year. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  March,  1768,  when  Lord 
Clare  again  offered  his  services.  Sir  Jarrit  Smith  retired, 
owing  to  advancing  age,  and  two  Tory  candidates  came 
forward  to  supply  the  vacancy — Mr.  Richard  Combe,  of 
College  Green,  who  held  a  minor  office  in  the  Government ; 
and  Mr.  Matthew  Brickdale,  once  a  woollen  draper  in  High 
Street.  On  the  eve  of  the  nomination  day.  Combe  retired, 
finding  that  many  Whigs  would  vote  for  his  rival ;  and  Lord 
Clare  and  Mr.  Brickdale  were  thereupon  elected.     "  Many 


884  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1768. 

houses,"  says  the  Bristol  Journal,  "were  opened  in  the 
several  parishes  for  the  general  entertainment  of  the 
friends  of  all  parties'*  whilst  a  contest  seemed  imminent; 
and  "  the  poor  freemen  and  their  families  "  were 
bountifully  regaled  after  the  members  were  returned. 
Mr.  Laroche,  jun.,  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  was  elected 
for  Bodmyn,  and  Mr.  Dickenson,  of  College  Green,  for 
another  borough.  Mr.  Combe  soon  after  found  a  seat  in 
Somerset,  when  he  sold  his  house  in  Bristol,  and  left  the  city. 
(The  following  paragraph  in  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  of  March 
19th  is  not  strictly  local,  but  it  is  too  racy  to  be  omitted  : — 
"  We  hear  there  is  so  great  a  demand  for  provisions  in  a  cer- 
tain borough  in  the  West  [probably  Bridgwater]  that  300 
guineas  have  been  given  for  half  an  ox,  and  'tis  yet  expected 
to  be  at  a  more  advanced  price."   A  fortnight  later  the  same 

f)aper  said  it  was  confidently  stated  that  the  losing  parties 
lad  expended  nearly  £20,(XX).  "  One  opulent  elector  was 
offered  £50  a  year  and  £700  in  money  for  his  vote  and 
interest,  which  he  nobly  refused.")  In  the  following  June, 
Lord  Clare's  seat  was  vacated  by  his  appointment  as  one  of 
the  Vice-Treasurers  of  Ireland  ;  when  he  was  re-elected 
without  opposition. 

An  advertisement  issued  by  the  Chandlers'  and  Soap 
Boilers'  Company,  dated  from  their  "  hall,"  and  offering  a 
reward  for  the  discovery  of  frauds  in  the  trade,  appeared 
in  the  Bristol  papers  in  April,  1768.  The  locality  of  the 
hall,  of  which  no  later  record  has  been  found,  is  unknown. 
The  "  frauds  "  referred  to  smuggled  imports  of  Irish  soap 
and  candles,  then  tabooed  from  this  country. 

An  illustration  of  a  practice  already  referred  to  is  offered 
by  the  following  advertisement  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of 
May  7th,  1768  : — ^^  Whereas  certain  ill-disposed  persons  in 
and  about  Frenchay  have  propagated  a  report  that  Captain 
John  Read  of  that  place  had  murdered  his  negro  servant, 
and  that  Thomas  Mountjoy,  of  Whiteshill,  surgeon,  had 
dissected  the  body."  The  announcement  goes  on  to  offer 
a  reward  of  £10  for  the  discovery  of  the  author  of  the 
report,  adding  that,  in  order  "  to  clear  his  character," 
Captain  Read  had  been  "at  the  expense  of  returning  to 
Frenchay  (from  London),  and  bringing  the  negro  with  him, 
notwithstanding  he  had  made  him  the  property  of  another 
person  by  sale."  (In  November,  1771,  at  a  sale  near  Lon- 
don, a  negro  boy  was  put  up  to  auction,  and  knocked  down 
at  £32.) 

A  disturbance  occurred  on  the  quays  on  the  13th  May, 


1768.]  IN   THE   SIQHTEENTH   CSNTUBT.  385 

through  a  number  of  sailors  having  tried  to  force  their 
comrades  to  strike  for  an  advance  of  wages — then  26«.  a 
month.  The  discontented  men  demanded  30«.,  but  were 
unsuccessful.  Arthur  Young,  in  the  inquiry  he  made  this 
year  into  the  agricultural  condition  of  the  South  of  Eng- 
land, found  that  the  labourers'  earnings  in  some  parts  of 
Gloucestershire  were  from  4«.  to  6«.  per  week  in  winter,  and 
68,  in  summer.  "The  stoutest  fellows,"  he  says,  "often 
want  work  for  9d.  a  day,  and  cannot  readily  get  it." 

On  October  Ist,  1768,  just  a  fortnight  after  the  newly- 
erected  Bristol  Bridge  had  been  opened  for  traffic  on  foot, 
a  short  contribution  appeared  in  Felix  FarUy^s  Journal^ 
styled  a  "description  of  the  Mayor's  first  passing  over  the 
Old  Bridge,  taken  from  an  old  manuscript."  The  ncurative, 
which  described  in  spurious  antique  diction  and  orthography 
the  rejoicings  alleged  to  have  taken  place  in  the  city  up- 
wards of  five  hundred  years  before,  excited  much  interest 
amongst  the  few  Bristolians  of  antiquarian  tastes,  and  led 
to  inquiries  for  the  name  of  the  contributor.  It  then  ap- 
peared that  the  manuscript  had  been  handed  in  anony- 
mously, together  with  two  short  poems,  also  professing  to 
be  ancient,  but  which  had  been  laid  aside.  The  author  of 
the  three  pieces  was,  in  fact;  the  gifted  but  misguided 
genius,  Thomas  Chatterton,  who  was  the  posthumous  son 
of  a  master  of  Pyle  Street  school  bearing  the  same  name, 
and  was  bom  under  the  shadow  of  Kedcliff  Church  on  the 
20th  November,  1762.  The  boy  was  in  infancy  so  unusually 
dull  that  he  was  dismissed  from  Pyle  Street  school  as  in- 
capable of  even  learning  his  letters.  When  in  his  seventh 
year  his  slumbering  intellect  was  awakened  by  a  singular 
incident.  His  mother,  who  kept  a  sewing  school  near  the 
church,  was  tearing  up  an  old  music  book  that  had  belonged 
to  her  husband,  when  its  illuminated  capitals  attracted  her 
son^s  admiration,  and  by  its  help  she  succeeded  in  teaching 
him  the  alphabet,  and  soon  after  taught  him  to  read  in  an 
old  black-letter  Testament.  About  a  year  later  (August 
3rd,  1760)  Chatterton  was  admitted  into  Colston's  School 
on  the  nomination  of  John  Gardiner,  vicar  of  Henbury,  and 
remained  there  until  July  1st,  1767,  on  which  day  he  was 
apprenticed  as  a  scrivener  to  Mr.  John  Lambert,  attorney. 
Corn  Street.  Although  the  training  aflforded  in  Colston's 
Hospital  was  limited  to  the  mere  rudiments  of  education, 
the  blue-coat  boy  at  an  early  age  became  known  at  the 
circulating  libraries  and  second-hand  book  shops  as  a 
greedy  hunter  after  old   world  literature,   which  he  read 

c  c 


386  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1768. 

during  plav  hours;  whilst  on  Saturday  afternoons  he  re- 
lumed to  his  mother's,  and  spent  the  holiday  in  drawing 
heraldic  and  architectural  subjects.  One  of  his  youthful 
feats,  probably  completed  at  Mr.  Lambert's,  was  to  compile  a 
glossary  of  old  English  words,  chiefly  extracted  from  John 
Kersey's  Dictionary,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that 
the  idea  of  which  the  Eowley  Poems  were  the  remarkable 
fruit  had  germed  at  an  early  period.  In  Mr.  Lambert's 
office  library,  moreover,  was  an  old  edition  of  Camden's 
"  Britannia,"  to  which  the  base  of  many  of  the  lad's  future 
fictions  can  be  clearly  traced.  (Mr.  Nicholls's  statement  that 
Chatterton  was  largely  indebted  for  medieval  knowledge  to 
the  City  Library  is  certainly  inaccurate.)  Soon  after  leaving 
school,  the  boy  made  a  discovery  peculiarly  to  his  taste. 
Over  the  north  porch  of  RedcliflF  Church  was  a  chamber 
known  as  the  muniment  room,  amongst  the  contents  of  which, 
in  the  time  of  Chatterton's  father,  was  a  large  chest,  called 
Canynges'  coffer,  stored  with  deeds  and  ancient  parochial 
papers.  In  1727  this  coflfer,  secured  with  six  locks,  of  which 
the  keys  had  been  lost,  was  broken  open  by  order  of  the 
vestry,  and  such  of  the  documents  as  were  considered  of 
value  were  removed,  whilst  a  quantity  deemed  worthless, 
contained  in  that  and  other  fchests,  were  left  loose  and  un- 
protected. Old  church  documents  were  regarded  in  that 
age  with  little  respect,  and  there  is  nothing  surprising  in 
the  fact  that  the  Pyle  Street  schoolmaster  subsequently 
obtained  permission  to  take  away  large  bundles  ;  a  number 
of  parchments  being  afterwards  used  in  covering  Bibles  and 
other  books  for  his  scholars.  After  his  death,  his  store  of  un- 
used manuscripts  still  filled  two  boxes,  from  which  his  widow 
supplied  her  sewing  pupils  with  patterns  and  thread  papers. 
Whilst  her  son  was  one  day  on  a  visit,  he  examined  one  of 
the  fragments  of  parchment,  then  being  used  as  a  silk 
winder,  and  exclaiming  that  he  had  found  a  treasure,  he 
collected  all  the  remaining  morsels  that  could  be  found  in 
the  house,  and  carried  them  off.  Mr.  Lambert's  ofiice  hours 
extended  from  8  in  the  morning  until  8  at  night ;  but  the 
attorney's  practice  was  not  extensive,  and  the  clerk  had 
long  intervals  of  leisure,  which  were  devoted  to  poetry  and 
the  cultivation  of  his  curious  tastes.  The  prose  narrative 
relating  to  the  Bridge  was  his  first  published  effort  in  the 
manufacture  of  spurious  antiquities.  On  being  shortly 
afterwards  identified  at  the  newspaper  office  as  the  con- 
tributor, Chatterton  alleged  that  he  had  found  the  original, 
together  with  some  poems,   amongst  the  manuscripts  ob- 


1768.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  387 

tained  by  his  father  from  Redcliff  porch.  The  youth,  who 
was  still  under  16  years  of  age,  was  thereupon  introduced 
to  Mr.  George  Catcott,  a  pewterer  near  Bristol  Bridge,  and 
a  bustling  but  futile  amateur  in  archaeology;  and  a  few 
days  later  that  gentleman  was  presented  with  the  "Bristowe 
Tragedie,"  shortly  afterwards  supplemented  by  an  epitaph 
on  Robert  Canynges,  the  "  Challenge  to  Lydgate,"  and  tne 
**  Song  of  Ella,"  some  being  so-called  originals  and  some 
copies,  but  all  alleged  to  have  been  composed  by  Thomas 
Rowley,  a  monk  or  priest,  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Catcott, 
overwhelmed  with  deUght,  carried  one  of  the  poems,  written 
on  scraps  of  parchment,  to  Mr.  William  Barrett,  an  eminent 
Bristol  surgeon,  then  zealously  collecting  materials  for  his 
contemplated  history  of  the  city ;  and  the  "  discoverer  "  of 
the  treasures  was  forthwith  introduced  to  this  important 
personage.  Chatterton,  who  appears  to  have  soon  gauged 
the  character  of  his  new  patron,  lost  no  time  in  supplying 
him  with  what  was  styled  an  "  Account  of  Bristol,*'  written 
by  a  monk  named  Turgot,  Uving  in  the  reign  of  the 
Conqueror,  and  **  translated  by  Rowley  from  Saxon  into 
English.''  The  prize  was  at  once  accepted  as  genuine,  and 
when  the  gullible  surgeon  acquainted  his  young  friend 
from  time  to  time  with  nis  difficulties  as  to  the  early  history 
of  various  Bristol  churches,  the  "relics"  that  were  oppor- 
tunely furnished  to  meet  his  needs  were  received  and  made 
use  of  with  the  same  unquestioning  credulity,  the  boy  being 
at  intervals  rewarded  with  small  gifts  of  money  gus  incen- 
tives to  further  "  researches."  Though  the  weakness  of  the 
dupe  was  unscrupulously  played  upon,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  victimiser  was  very  young,  and  had,  like  many 
boys,  a  mischievous  pleasure  in  deception.  He  was,  more- 
over, almost  penniless,  receiving  no  wages  from  his  master, 
and  was  strongly  tempted  into  wrong-doing  by  an  innate 
fondness  for  fine  clothing.  Mr.  Barrett's  valuable  library 
having  been  opened  to  him,  Chatterton  obtained  from  it 
materials  for  a  less  important  and  more  amusing  imposture. 
Greorge  Catcott  had  a  partner  in  trade  named  Henry  Bur- 
gum,  a  man  of  humble  birth,  but  puffed  with  a  little  worldly 
success,  and  absurdly  ambitious  to  be  thought  of  good  family. 
To  this  tradesman  Chatterton  announced  that  he  had  found 
amongst  the  Redcliff  parchments  the  armorial  bearings  of 
the  De  Berghems,  with  proofs  of  their  descent  from  one  of 
the  companions  of  William  I.  The  pedigree  further  pre- 
tended to  be  verified  by  references  to  ancient  charters,  the 
Roll  of  Battle  Abbey,  and  the  works  of  various  antiquaries. 


388  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1768. 

(All  the  books  quoted  were  in  Barrett's  collection.)  The 
vain  and  credulous  pewterer  having  testified  his  delight  by 
bestowing  five  shillings  on  his  informant,  the  latter  soon 
concocted  a  continuation  of  the  pedigree,  cautiously  closed 
at  about  1686,  accompanied  by  a  piece  of  poetry  alleged  to 
have  been  written  in  1320  by  one  John  de  Berghem ;  and 
for  these  the  forger  was  rewarded  with  another  crown.  A 
more  daring  attempt  at  deception  w^as  made  about  the  same 
time.  Horace  Walpole^s  "Anecdotes  of  Painting"  having 
recently  appeared,  Chatterton  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
author,  enclosing,  amongst  other  manuscripts,  the  fictitious 
Rowley's  "  Ryse  of  Peyncteyne  in  England "  and  some 
verses  about  Richard  I.  Walpole  courteously  acknowledged 
the  papers,  whereupon  he  received,  by  return  of  post, 
further  particulars  as  to  Rowley,  with  additional  manu- 
scripts, including  the  "  Historic  of  Peyncters  yn  England," 
and  a  significant  intimation  that  the  writer  was  a  lover 
of  literature  in  needy  circumstances.  The  MSS.  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  poets  Gray  and  Mason,  who  pronounced  them 
to  be  spurious,  and  after  further  correspondence  Chatterton 
met  with  a  mortifying  but  not  undeserved  repulse.  In  the 
meantime  he  had  sought  to  better  his  narrow  resources  by 
contributing  verses  and  prose  essays  to  a  London  magazine. 
Later  on,  embittered  by  what  he  considered  the  parsimony 
of  his  local  patrons,  he  satirised  many  prominent  Bristolians, 
to  some  of  whom,  especially  to  Barrett  and  Catcott,  he  was 
under  personal  obligations.  At  length,  in  the  spring  of 
1770,  the  unhappy  youth  avowed  an  intention  to  commit 
suicide,  and  one  morning  Mr.  Lambert  found  on  his  desk 
the  document  now  preserved  in  the  Bristol  Museum,  entitled 
his  "last  will,"  written  "in  the  utmost  distress  of  mind, 
14tli  April,"  and  bitterly  expressive  of  his  forlorn  miser3\ 
The  attorney  having  at  once  dismissed  his  apprentice, 
Chatterton,  aided  by  the  subscription  of  a  few  friends,  and 
with  only  £B  in  his  pocket,  started  on  the  24th  April  for 
London.  His  miserable  career  in  the  capital  is  described 
by  his  biographers.  It  is  sufl&cient  to  say  that  he  displayed 
almost  incredible  industry,  overtaxing  his  strength  by  the 
production  of  a  prodigious  pile  of  prose  and  verse,  literary 
and  political,  dramatic  and  satirical.  During  one  brief  gleam 
of  success,  he  purchased  and  sent  off  some  little  presents  to 
his  mother,  sister,  and  grandmother,  his  affection  for  whom 
was  unabated.  On  another  occasion,  a  timely  political 
essay  brought  him  into  communication  with  Lord  Mayor 
Beckford,  who  seems  to  have  promised  to  befriend  him,  for 


1768.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  889 

the  sudden  death  of  the  politician  soon  afterwards  plunged 
him  in  despair.  The  magazines,  again,  were  sordidly  con- 
ducted. For  250  lines  of  the  "  Consuliad  "  the  poet  received 
only  lO/f.  6d.,  which  indicates  the  general  scale  of  his  re- 
wards. The  last  and  most  exquisite  of  the  Rowley  poems, 
the  ballad  on  Charity,  was  rejected  by  the  editors.  The 
noblest  poet  of  the  age,  in  short,  was  literally  starving, 
although  he  was  always  content  to  make  a  dinner  on  cakes 
and  water.  For  the  last  three  days  of  his  life,  according  to 
the  statement  of  the  woman  with  whom  he  lodged  (at  39, 
Brook  Street,  Holborn),  he  was  wholly  without  food,  but 
proudly  rejected  her  assistance.  His  mind  gave  way 
under  his  sufferings,  and  he  died  from  the  effects  of  poison 
on  the  26th  August,  1770,  aged  seventeen  years  and  nine 
months,  and  was  buried  in  a  pauper's  grave.  The  publishers 
at  that  time  owed  him  about  £12  for  accepted  contributions. 
Such  are  the  main  incidents  of  the  poet's  life,  which  it  has 
not  been  easy  to  disentangle  from  the  web  of  fiction  and 
confusion  woven  around  them  by  the  lying  stories  of 
Tiiistlethwaite,  the  fables  engendered  by  the  senile  imagi- 
nation of  Mrs.  Edkins,  the  gossip-inspired  twaddle  of  Cottle, 
and  the  impudent  fabrications  of  Dix.  All  that  need  be 
said  here  respecting  the  Rowley  controversy  that  arose 
after  the  boy's  death  is  that,  in  spite  of  the  thinness  of  the 
veil  which  Chatterton  threw  over  his  inventions — a  veil 
that  modern  schoolboys  can  easily  pierce — many  influential 
writers  of  the  time,  with  the  President  of  the  Antiquarian 
Society  at  their  head,  acrimoniously  contended  for  the 
antiquity  of  the  poems,  whilst  all  the  Bristol  acquaintances 
of  Chatterton,  with  the  solitary  exception  of  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Catcott,  scoffed  at  the  supposition  that  the  works 
were  his  own  creation.  The  Rowleyites  practically  dis- 
appeared before  the  end  of  the  century.  Chatterton's  lyrics 
are  now  ranked  amongst  the  finest  in  the  language,  and 
the  brilliant  genius  and  intellectual  precocity  of  "  Bristol's 
marvellous  boy "  have  been  sung  with  admiration  and 
pity  by  almost  every  English  poet  from  Coleridge  to  Ros- 
setti. 

The  public-house  "  at  Passage  Leaze,  opposite  Pill,  com- 
monly called  Lamplighter's  Hall,"  was  offered  to  be  let  in 
the  Bristol  Journal  of  December  17th,  1768.  This  is  the  first 
mention  of  a  house  that  subsequently  became  a  favourite 
resort  of  pleasure  parties.  In  1772,  when  the  property  was 
offered  for  sale,  it  was  described  as  "  some  time  the  estate 
of  Joseph  Swetnam,  tinman,  of  Small  Street,  deceased." 


i 


890  THE    ANNALS   OP  BRI8T01,  [1768-69. 

Swetnam  had  at  one  period  contracted  to  light  the  lamps 
in  some  of  the  city  parishes.  He  was  probably  the  son  of 
another  tinman,  James  Swetnam,  who  traded  at  the  Three 
Ship  Lanterns  on  the  Back  in  1740,  and  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  Bristol  tradesman  who  used  an  engraved  bill- 
head for  making  out  his  invoices. 

The  minutes  of  the  corporation  of  the  poor  for  the  year 
1768  contain  the  following  entry  : — "  Mr.  John  Peach,  one 
of  the  guardians,  discharged  in  consequence  of  his  having 
convicted  a  felon.''  The  minute,  which  led  Mr.  Nicholls  to 
assume  that  Mr.  Peach  was  himself  a  felon,  is  explained  by 
a  statute  of  1698,  which  enacted  that  burglars,  horse  stealers, 
or  thieves  robbing  shops  to  the  value  of  five  shillings,  should 
on  conviction  be  hanged,  and  that  every  person  successfully 

f)rosecuting  such  a  felon  should  ba  entitled  to  exemption 
rom  parochial  and  ward  offices  in  the  place  where  the  crime 
was  committed.  This  singular  Act  was  not  repealed  until 
1818. 

In  January,  1769,  the  Corporation  presented  a  petition  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  settmg  forth  that  the  two  ancient 
city  fairs,  beginning  respectively  on  the  25th  January  and 
the  25th  July,  "  did  not  answer  the  good  ends  of  their  insti- 
tution, by  reason  that  the  times  of  the  year  at  which  they 
were  held  were  extremely  inconvenient  to  the  manufacturers 
and  traders  resorting  thereto ;  '^  and  praying  for  power  to 
alter  the  dates  to  "  more  convenient  parts  of  the  year/'  A 
Bill  fixing  the  opening  of  the  fairs  on  the  1st  March  and  1st 
September  (and  also  empowering  the  Common  Council  to 
carry  out  the  arrangements  already  recorded  respecting  the 
Grammar  School  and  Queen  Elizabath's  Hospital)  passed 
without  opposition. 

The  St.  Jameses  Chronicle  of  July  1st  contains  an  interest- 
ing paragraph  in  reference  to  Clifton  : — "  We  hear  from  the 
Hot  Wells  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  very  good  company 
already ;  seldom  less  than  200  at  the  public  breakfasts 
with  cotillons,  and  fuller  balls  than  were  last  year  at  the 
height  of  the  season,  which  is  generally  about  the  third 
week  in  July."  The  writer  adds  that  owing  to  the  nearness 
of  Bath,  entertainments  were  given  at  each  place  alternately 
all  the  year  round,  and  this  attraction,  combined  with  the 
excellence  of  the  play-house,  the  choice  of  lodging-houses, 
the  purity  of  the  air,  and  the  virtues  of  the  Hot  Well  water 
at  all  seasons,  had  "  induced  several  persons  of  independent 
fortune  either  to  purchase  or  take  houses  in  order  to  live 
there  winter  and  summer.     The  inhabitants   met  twice  a 


1769.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  391 

week  last  winter  to  drink  tea  and   play  at  cards,  which 
encreased  its  sociability." 

Mr.  William  Powell,  manager  of  the  Bristol  theatre,  and 
one  of  the  patentees  of  Covent  Garden  theatre,  London, 
died  in  this  city  on  the  3rd  July,  aged  33.  He  had  displayed 
such  distinguished  talent  as  a  tragedian  that  he  was  regarded 
by  his  friends  as  the  indicated  successor  of  Qtirrick.  His 
remains  were  buried  in  the  Cathedral,  the  dean  (Dr.  Barton) 
performing  the  funeral  service  in  the  presence  of  a  great 
concourse  of  influential  citizens. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  8th  July  a  committee 
recommended  the  removal  of  Lawford's  Gate,  and  the  pur- 
chase and  destruction  of  three  adjoining  houses,  by  which 
"  a  very  convenient  passage  would  be  there  opened  for  per- 
sons, horses,  and  carriages.''  The  Chamber  ordered  the 
work  to  be  executed  forthwith.  The  two  ancient  statues 
ornamenting  the  Gate  were  secured  by  Mr.  Reeve,  who 
placed  them  on  the  outside  of  the  entrance  arch  to  "  Black 
Castle."  The  demolished  houses — one  of  which,  it  is  said, 
was  originally  a  lodge  of  one  of  the  keepers  of  Kingswood 
chase,  who  was  entitled  to  demand  toll  from  every  pack- 
horse  entering  the  city  during  the  fairs — belonged  to 
Trinity  Hospital,  and  brought  in  £21  yearly.  The  Corpora- 
tion granted  the  charity  a  perpetual  annuity  of  £16  per 
annum.  Five  more  old  dwellings  were  demolished  in  1792 
to  widen  the  street  at  this  point. 

A  great  pugilistic  contest  took  place  in  the  new  Biding 
School  on  the  19th  June  between  Stephens  "the  nailer"  and 
a  Kingswood  collier  named  Milsom.  The  latter  was  success- 
ful, but  it  was  generally  suspected  that  his  opponent  "  sold 
the  fight."  Some  thousands  of  spectators  were  present,  in- 
cluding many  gentry,  and  "  two  noblemen." 

During  the  summer,  the  treatment  of  John  Wilkes  by 
the  House  of  Commons  aroused  a  strong  feeling  in  his 
favour.  A  dinner  took  place  in  June  at  the  Cock  inn,  St. 
James's  churchyard,  at  which,  in  honour  of  the  famous 
number  of  the  North  Briton^  45  gentlemen  sat  down  to  a 
feast  comprised  of  46  fowls,  a  461b.  ham,  a  461b.  rump  of 
beef,  45  cabbages,  45  cucumbers,  45  loaves  and  45  tarte,  to 
which  were  added  45  gallons  of  ale,  45  glasses  of  brandy, 
and  45  papers  of  tobacco.  A  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Guildhall  in  the  following  month,  Mr.  Henry  Cruger  presid- 
ing, at  which  a  strongly-worded  protest  against  the  action 
of  the  Commons  was  adopted  unanimously.  It  was  stated 
during  the  proceedings  that  several  attorneys  and  others 


/ 


892  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1769. 

had  been  employed  to  prevent  the  meeting,  by  industriously 
alleging  that  those  who  took  part  in  it  would  be  summoned 
to  Westminster  and  flung  into  prison. 

On  the  13th  December,  1769,  Thomas  Lawrence,  inn- 
holder  (he  had  just  become  tenant  of  the  White  Lion  in 
Broad  Street),  was  admitted  a  freeman  on  payment  of  a  fine 
of  12  guineas.  His  distinguished  son,  Thomas,  afterwards 
President  of  the  Royal  Academy,  was  then  an  infant,  having 
been  bom  in  Redcross  Street  on  the  Bth  May.     In  April, 

1772,  Lawrence  announced  that  the  American  coffee-house, 
adjoining  the  inn,  had  been  united  to  his  establishment ; 
but   the   adventure  was  unprofitable,  and  at  midsummer, 

1773,  he  removed  to  the  Black  Bear  inn  at  Devizes.  The 
White  Lion  was  at  this  time  a  favourite  resort  of  Bristolians 
who  approved  of  the  king's  policy  towards  America.  An 
old  citizen  informed  Mr.  Tyson  that  he  remembered  having 
seen  effigies  of  Hancock  and  Adams,  two  prominent  foun- 
ders of  the  United  States,  ignominiously  hanged  before  the 
American  coffee-house,  after  having  been  first  "  tarred  and 
feathered."  After  the  defeat  of  the  Government,  the  title 
of  the  house  became  offensive  to  its  political  patrons,  and 
"  American  "  was  changed  to  "  British  "  about  1785. 

The  Corporation,  although  accumulating  a  heavy  debt, 
was  generally  disposed  to  protect  the  pockets  of  the  wealthy 
interest  by  which  it  was  dominated.  In  December,  1769, 
the  Council  voted  a  subscription  of  100  guineas  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers  by  a  fire  in  the  island  of  Antigua. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  West  India  merchants  con- 
tributed a  shilling  towards  the  same  object.  The  attention 
of  the  Chamber  was  directed  at  the  same  meeting  to  the 
devoted  ministerial  services  rendered  by  the  Rev.  James 
Rouquet  to  the  prisoners  in  the  gaol  for  nearly  twenty  years. 
It  was  determined  that  a  gift  of  £20  would  be  a  sufficient 
compensation. 

The  earliest  notice  of  a  third  Bristol  Bank  occurs  in  1769, 
when  the  partners  were  Henry  Bright,  Thomas  Deane, 
Jeremiah  Ames,  Thomas  Whitehead,  Edward  Harford  and 
Samuel  Munckley.  Business  was  carried  on  in  Small  Street, 
in  a  large  mansion  once  belonging  to  Edward  Colston. 
(The  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Post  Office.)  After  a 
secession,  which  will  be  recorded  under  1786,  this  bank  was 
carried  on  for  some  years  by  Messrs.  Deane,  Whitehead, 
Harford,  Son,  and  Aldridge.  In  1799,  when  a  removal  took 
place  to  No.  8,  Com  Street,  the  concern  was  styled  Messrs. 
Harford,  Davis  and  Company. 


1770.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTUBY.  393 

An  advertisement,  dated  February  14th,  1770,  announced 
in  the  local  newspapers  that  the  New  Bristol  Fire  OflSce  had 
opened  for  business.  The  company,  which  had  a  capital  of 
£108,000,  had  been  formed  some  years  previously  by  the 
local  sugar  refiners  for  mutual  protection  against  fire.  An- 
other local  insurance  office,  styled  the  Bristol  Universal, 
commenced  business  in  September,  1774,  with  a  subscribed 
capital  of  £60,000,  undertaking  to  pay  for  losses  of  plate, 
china,  glass,  carved  work,  wainscot  of  rooms,  etc.  (which 
the  older  offices  refused  to  insure),  and  to  charge  no  more 
for  large  insurances  than  for  small  ones,  namely,  2s.  percent. 
The  senior  offices  were  soon  compelled  to  follow  the  example 
of  their  new  rivals.  In  1790  the  New  Bristol  company 
increased  its  capital  to  £240,000,  and  changed  its  name  to 
the  Bristol  Fire  Office. 

An  Act  was  obtained  in  1770  empowering  the  Bishop  of 
Bristol  to  dispose,  on  lease,  of  the  "  park  "  adjoining  his 
palace,  for  building  purposes.  Similar  powers  were  con- 
ferred on  the  dean  and  chapter  as  regarded  "  White's  Gar- 
den." Mr.  Samuel  Worrall  obtained  a  lease  of  the  Bishop's 
Park  for  90  years,  at  a  rent  of  £60  per  annum,  and  soon 
after  offered  the  land  in  building  plots,  "  in  the  new  street 
called  College  Street."  The  chapter  land  was  covered  with 
low  tenements,  the  inmates  of  which  soon  contributed  to 
increase  not  merely  the  pauperism  but  the  vice  of  the  city  ; 
but  the  cathedral  authorities,  content  to  receive  their  re- 
served rents,  long  ignored  the  immorality  that  prevailed. 
The  period  was  a  lucrative  one  for  the  chapter.  In  June, 
1770,  it  obtained  £1,000  from  two  ladies  named  Clement  for 
inserting  a  new.  life  in  their  lease  of  Canons'  Marsh.  In 
April,  1772,  another  life  in  the  same  lease  dropped,  and 
£1,050  was  paid  for  adding  a  fresh  one  ;  and  two  years  later 
the  same  process  had  to  be  gone  through  again,  at  a  further 
cost  of  £1,050. 

A  petition  having  been  presented  to  the  Council  in  1769, 
urging  the  Corporation  to  exercise  the  powers  conferred 
upon  it  for  the  removal  of  St.  Leonard's  Church  and  the 
laying  out  of  a  street  from  Com  Street  to  the  Quay,  the 
matter  was  referred  to  a  committee,  which,  after  consider- 
ation, declined  to  advise  the  Council  to  undertake  the  work. 
A  petition  was  subsequently  presented  to  the  Chamber  by 
Daniel  Harson,  John  Fowler,  Edward  Harford,  jun.,  William 
Hart,  John  Deverell,  Cranford  Becher,  Wm.  James,  Edward 
Nicholas,  John  Powell,  and  John  Anderson,  praying  that  the 
Corporation  would  assign   the  powers   to  private  citizens 


/ 


894  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1770. 

willing  to  carry  out  the  improvement,  and  would  assist  in 
the  work  by  giving  up  the  site  of  a  public-house,  and  by  a 
donation  of  £2,000,  which  was  estimated  to  be  the  net  loss 
likely  to  be  incurred  in  destroying  the  old  property.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  22nd  May,  1770,  the  requests 
of  the  petitioners  were  unanimously  assented  to,  and  it  was 
resolved  that  the  new  thoroughfare  should  be  called  Clare 
Street.  The  promoters  lost  no  time  in  buying  up  the  old 
property,  the  materials  of  nine  houses  "  at  Pyle  End,  near 
St.  Leonard's  Church,"  and  of  various  tenements  in  Marsh 
Street  being  offered  for  sale  in  November.  In  January, 
1771,  the  church  of  St.  Leonard's,  with  the  dark  and 
tortuous  passage  called  Blind  Gate  on  which  it  stood,  com- 
municating with  Marsh  Street,  Fisher  Lane  (St.  Stephen 
Street),  and  Baldwin  Street,  was  demolished,  and  soon  after 
building  operations  commenced  in  earnest.  The  street  was 
nearly  completed  in  1776,  when  Sketchley  compiled  his 
Directory.  The  improvement  was  effected  at  a  cost  greatly 
below  the  estinjates,  and  the  undertakers  reaped  a  large 
profit  from  their  enterprise.  An  advertisement  in  Felix 
Farley^s  Journal  of  July  6th,  1776,  stated  that  subscribers 
might  receive  back  their  subscriptions,  "  and  also  receive 
the  final  dividends  of  profits  arising  from  said  concern." 

Complaint  having  been  made  that  the  city  was  inade- 
quately supplied  with  the  better  sorts  of  fish,  the  Corpora- 
tion, in  May,  1770,  granted  a  bounty  of  Is,  6d,  per  cwt.  to 
a  Welshman  named  James,  for  all  the  turbot,  cod,  and  soles 
which  he  sent  into  the  local  market  from  places  west  of  the 
Holmes. 

An  order  issued  by  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  in  August, 
1770,  offers  amusing  testimony  as  to  the  leisurely  business 
habits  of  the  age.  Complaint  having  been  made  as  to  the 
blocking  of  the  quays,  the  court  decreed  as  follows  : — "  All 
vessels  laden  with  tobacco  [it  was  shown  under  1766  that 
some  of  these  ships  were  of  only  about  100  tons  burden]  to 
discharge  their  cargo  in  40  working  days  ;  all  vessels  from 
other  foreign  parts  in  21  working  days.... AH  vessels  bound 
to  foreign  parts  to  take  in  their  loading  in  80  working  days." 
From  seventeen  to  twenty  weeks  were  therefore  allowed 
each  ship  between  her  arrival  and  departure.  The  follow- 
ing regulation  was  also  made : — "  No  candle  to  be  lighted 
on  board  any  vessel  at  the  keys  on  any  night  after  the 
Candle  Bell  shall  be  rung,"  on  pain  of  a  fine  of  lOs.  The 
Candle  Bell  figures  in  some  old  engravings  of  the  Draw- 
bridge. 


1770-71.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  395 

Tea  was  still  an  expensive  luxury.  Mrs.  James,  of  High 
Street,  announced  in  November  that  she  had  just  opened 
"  several  chests  of  her  so-much-admired  bloom  and  hyson 
teas,"  which  she  continued  to  sell  at  the  old  prices,  namely, 
11*.,  14«.,  and,  for  best  hyson,  16*.  per  lb.  (Another  trades- 
man sold  fine  gunpowder  tea  at  20*.,  and  Mocha  cofifee  at  6*.) 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  the  haphazard  system 
under  which  postal  business  was  conducted  early  in  the 
century.  It  would  seem  from  the  following  paragraph  in 
the  Bristol  Journal  of  November  3rd  that  the  arrangements 
had  undergone  but  little  improvement  in  1770: — "  The  Lon- 
don mail  did  not  arrive  so  soon  by  several  hours  as  usual 
on  Monday,  owing  to  the  postman's  getting  a  little  intoxi- 
cated on  his  way  between  Newbury  and  Marlborough,  and 
falling  from  his  horse  into  a  hedge,  where  he  was  found 
asleep  by  means  of  his  dog." 

The  improvements  in  and  around  Newgate  prison,  contem- 
plated by  the  Act  of  1766,  were  effected  this  year  at  a  cost 
of  £838. 

A  healing  spring,  of  which  few  living  Bristolians  have 
perhaps  ever  heard,  solicited  the  attention  of  bathers  in  the 
local  journals  of  April  20th,  1771.  "  The  Cold  Bath,  in  Castle 
Ditch,"  said  the  advertisement,  had  a  neat  drawing  room 
for  public  accommodation.  It  was  an  exceeding  fine  spring, 
constantly  overflowing,  and  its  salutary  qualities  had  been 
happily  experienced  by  many  afflicted  with  rheumatic, 
paralytic,  and  other  nervous  disorders.  It  moreover  pro- 
voked lost  appetites,  and  elevated  sinking  spirits.  The  bath 
was  surrounded  with  gravel  walks  and  pleasant  flowery  turfs 
for  after  recreation,  and  the  subscription  was  6*.  per  quarter, 
or  a  guinea  per  annum.  The  institution  was  in  existence  in 
1820,  when  Mr.  Seyer  was  compiling  his  history.  It  appears 
to  have  excited  rivalry,  for  the  local  Gazette  of  October  17th, 
1772,  recorded  that  on  the  previous  Monday  "  part  of  the 
waU  against  the  Avon,  belonging  to  St.  Peter's  Hospital,  fell 
down,  together  with  a  new-erected  Cold  Bath,  which  stood 
near  it,  into  the  river." 

The  Common  Council,  in  June,  1771,  resolved  to  set  about 
the  construction  of  the  street  (Union  Street)  from  Dolphin 
Lane  to  Broadmead..  Owing  to  the  costliness  of  the  under- 
taking, it  was  determined  to  reduce  the  proposed  width  of 
the  thoroughfare  from  40  to  30  feet.  The  butcher  market 
at  the  Exchange  being  overcrowded,  it  was  resolved  to  erect 
a  market  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  new  street  The  under- 
taking presented  considerable  difficulties,  many   thousand 


396  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1771. 

tons  of  earth  having  to  be  carted  to  the  spot,  and  a  lofty 
bridge  constructed  over  the  Froom.  St.  James's  Market 
was  opened  on  the  1st  May,  1776.  The  outlay  of  the  Cor- 
poration far  exceeded  the  original  estimate  of  about  £4,(XK). 
In  1776,  the  Chamber  ordered  that  £2,600,  in  addition  to  £6,000 
already  borrowed,  be  raised  by  means  of  life  annuities,  "  for 
defraying  the  expence  of  making  Union  Street  and  the 
market  there." 

The  growing  inconvenience  to  traffic  caused  by  Redcliff 
Gate  at  length  overcame  the  conservative  instincts  of  the 
Corporation.  On  the  8th  June,  1771,  the  Chamber  unani- 
mously ordered  that  the  obstruction  should  be  forthwith  taken 
down.  As  already  stated  (p.  175),  the  gate  had  been  rebuilt 
so  recently  as  1731.  Redcliff  Parade,  on  a  site  previously 
known  as  Adderclift,  belonging  to  the  dean  and  chapter,  but 
held  under  lease  by  Mr.  Sydenham  Teast,  was  under  con- 
struction at  this  time.  In  1776  the  capitular  lease  was 
renewed  on  payment  of  a  fine  of  £650. 

A  great  public  improvement  was  determined  upon  in  the 
autumn.  The  impetus  came  from  London,  where  the  cor- 
poration had  just  introduced  flagged  footways  for  pedestrians. 
The  Common  Council  of  Bristol  resolved,  on  the  28th  Sep- 
tember, that  a  paved  way,  seven  feet  wide,  should  be  made 
before  the  Exchange,  to  which  it  was  also  determined  to 
remove  the  four  brass  pillars  that  had  long  stood  before  the 
Council  House.  This  resolution  must  have  been  come  to  in 
view  of  the  action  taken  in  reference  to  footways  by  the 
paving  authorities;  for  a  writer  in  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  of 
October  26th,  referring  to  various  local  improvements,  ap- 
plauds "  the  paved  foot  passages  so  commend  ably  begun  in 
several  of  the  streets.''  In  the  following  June  a  letter 
appeared  in  the  Bristol  Journal^  in  which  "  the  Ladies  of 
Bristol  return  thanks  to  the  magistrates  for  encouraging  the 
accommodation  of  their  feet  with  smooth  paved  streets  "  ; 
but  complain  that  "four  wheeled  carriages  called  trucks'' 
were  allowed  to  be  driven  along  the  footways. 

The  removal  of  the  brass  pillars,  just  recorded,  put  an  end 
to  a  singular  annual  ceremony,  described  by  a  London  ob- 
server as  follows : — "  On  the  5th  November  the  eldest  scholar 
of  the  city  grammar  school,  standing  on  a  brass  pillar  in  the 
street,  at  the  Tolzey,  commemorates  the  deliverance  in  a 
Latin  oration  to  the  mayor,  who  attends  to  him  at  the 
Council-house  door;  and  when  the  declaimer  dismounts, 
rewards  him  with  a  piece  or  pieces  of  gold,  as  Mr.  Mayor 
thinks  proper ;  but  the  throng  is  always  so  great  that  very 


1771-72.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  897 

little  is  heard."  The  oration  was  afterwards  delivered  in 
the  Council  House,  but  was  discontinued  in  1780,  and  was 
only  at  intervals  revived. 

On  the  7th  November,  John  Shoals  was  tried  at  the 
Admiralty  Court,  London,  for  the  murder  of  one  M'Coy  on 
board  the  Bristol  ship  Black  Prince,  in  January,  1769. 
Shortly  after  the  ship  left  Bristol  on  a  slaving  voyage,  the 
sailors  resolved  to  seize  the  vessel  and  become  pirates.  The 
captain  and  nine  ofl&cers  were  accordingly  forc^  into  a  boat, 
which  soon  after  sank.  M'Coy,  who  acted  as  cook,  having 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  crew,  was  tried  by  a  mock 
court-martial,  of  which  Shoals  was  a  member,  and,  having 
been  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  was  suspended  to  the  yard 
arm ;  but  the  rope  broke,  and  the  poor  fellow  fell  into  the 
sea  and  perished.  The  prisoner  was  acquitted  of  the  murder, 
but  was  sentenced  to  death  for  piracy,  and  subsequently 
executed.  The  Black  Prince  was  eventually  stranded  on 
the  coast  of  Hispaniola. 

On  the  2nd  January,  1772,  the  famous  John  Wilkes, 
having  been  invited  by  Sir  William  Codrington,  Bart.,  Mr. 
Samuel  Peach,  Mr.  Hfennr  Cruger,  and  other  influential 
citizens  to  pay  a  visit  to  Bristol,  arrived  at  the  White  Lion 
inn,  Broad  Street,  amidst  the  cheers  of  a  vast  crowd  of  ad- 
mirers. The  bells  of  St.  Stephen's  and  St.  Maryleport  were 
rung  in  his  honour ;  but  many  of  the  clergy,  according  to 
the  Bristol  Journal^  prevented  the  ringing  of  a  peal.  Wilkes 
was  entertained  to  dinner  in  Tailors'  Hall,  where  about 
eighty  gentlemen  sat  down,  and  24  toasts  were  afterwards 
drunk,  that  of  "  the  legal  representative  of  Middlesex " 
being  received  with  enthusiasm.  Sarah  Farley  was  ven- 
turesome enough  to  publish  in  her  newspaper  the  speech  of 
the  gentleman  who  welcomed  Wilkes's  arrival ;  but  his  name, 
as  well  as  the  demagogue's  after-dinner  oration,  was  carefully 
suppressed. 

Handel's  oratorio  of  "  Judas  Maccabaeus  "  was  performed 
on  the  25th  March  in  the  theatre  in  King  Street,  to  which 
the  admission  was  five  shillings.  Master  Linley,  then  a 
musical  prodigy,  was  **  first  violin  "  in  the  orchestra. 

An  advertisement  dated  April  8th,  1772,  appeared  in  the 
Bristol  Journal^  announcing  that  "Bobert  and  Thomas 
Southey,  linen  drapers,  mercers,  and  lace-men,  have  this  day 
opened  shop,  next  door  to  the  Plume  of  Feathers,  in  Wine 
Street."  Tne  premises  were  distinguished  by  "the  sign  of 
the  Hare."  The  senior  partner,  in  the  following  September, 
married  a  Miss  Hill,  of  Bedminster,  daughter  of  Edward 


898  THE  ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1772. 

Hill,  attorney,  deceased,  and  from  this  union  was  bom,  over 
the  Wine  Street  shop,  on  the  12th  August,  1774,  Robert 
Southey,  many  years  poet  laureate,  but  better  known  as  the 
biographer  of  Nelson  and  the  author  of  "  The  Doctor." 
The  draper  brothers  dissolved  partnership  about  1778, 
Thomas  migrating  to  Corn  Street ;  but  both  became  bank- 
rupt in  1791.  At  the  latter  date  the  shop  in  Wine  Street, 
since  divided  into  two,  was  let  for  £44  a  year. 

On  the  loth  May,  1772,  a  man  named  Jonathan  Britain 
was  hanged  at  St.  Michaers  Hill  for  forging  a  bill  of  ex- 
change for  the  sum  of  £10.  The  case  excited  much  public 
attention.  Britain  had  been  an  usher  in  the  school  kept  by 
Mr.  Donn  in  the  City  Library  in  King  Street,  and  had  also 
been  a  frequent  contributor  to  an  anti-ministerial  paper 
called  the  Whisperer,  In  July,  1771,  whilst  at  Reading,  he 
attempted  to  obtain  cash  for  four  bills  of  exchange  to  the 
total  value  of  £45;  but  doubts  as  to  their  genuineness 
having  been  aroused,  he  was  arrested,  and  ultimately  com- 
mitted for  trial  on  suspicion  of  forgery.  Apparently  in 
dread  of  the  result,  Britain  soon  afterwards  declared  that  he 
was  one  of  the  persons  concerned  in  setting  fire  to  Ports- 
mouth dockyard  a  short  time  previously,  and  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  avail  himself  of  the  royal  pardon  promised  in 
the  London  Gazette  to  any  one  making  a  full  discovery  of 
that  crime.  He  followed  up  this  statement  by  publishing 
in  the  Whisperer  virulent  attacks  on  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  on  the  king*s  favourite,  Lord  Bute.  These  articles, 
which  were  continued  for  several  months,  and  insinuate!  1 
criminal  charges  against  many  prominent  personages,  excited 
attention  all  over  the  country.  In  the  meantime,  a  Bristol 
firm  acquainted  the  prosecutors  at  Reading  that  Britain  had 
absconded  from  this  city,  after  obtaining  payment  of  three 
forged  bills,  amounting  together  to  £35.  This  fact  came  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  Rev.  William  Talbot,  vicar  of  St. 
Giles's,  Reading,  who  had  taken  an  inexplicable  antipathy 
to  Britain  from  the  outset,  and  who,  as  he  afterwards 
avowed,  had  resolved  to  rid  the  world  of  "an  execrable 
villain."  It  was  foreseen  that  the  charge  of  forgery  at 
Reading  could  not  be  sustained,  the  prosecutors  having  neg- 
lected to  retain  the  evidence  of  the  fraud.  It  appeared  also 
that  the  injured  persons  in  Bristol  had  no  intention  of  prose- 
cuting the  prisoner.  Mr.  Talbot  therefore  determined  to 
prosecute  the  Bristol  cases  at  his  own  expense,  and  made 
several  journeys  to  the  city  to  engage  legal  assistance  and 
collect   evidence,  having  stooped,  it  was   alleged,  to   gross 


1772.]  IH   THE    IIGHTEENTH   CBNTUEY,  399 

dissimulation  for  the  purpose  of  extracting  information  from 
Britain's  friends.  Two  or  three  journeys  were  also  made  to 
London  with  the  object  of  strengthening  the  case.  Finally, 
on  the  Berkshire  grand  jury  rejecting  the  Reading  indict- 
ments, Britain,  at  Mr.  Talbot's  instance,  was  arrested  by 
officers  from  Bristol,  where  he  was  brought  up  for  trial  on 
the  2nd  May,  1772,  on  one  of  the  three  indictments  laid 
against  him.  The  prisoner  had  practically  no  defence,  and 
his  claim  to  be  entitled  to  pardon  under  the  Gazette  notice 
referred  to  above  was,  of  course,  set  aside.  After  conviction, 
Britain  confessed  that  he  really  knew  nothing  about  the 
Portsmouth  fire,  and  that  his  articles  on  the  subject  were  a 
tissue  of  falsehoods.  The  man  was  undoubtedly  a  vicious 
and  heartless  scoundrel ;  but  the  extraordinary  manner  in 
which  he  was  dragged  to  the  scaiFold  by  a  clergyman  gave 
great  offence,  and  Mr.  Talbot's  solemn  assurances  that  his 
time  and  money  had  been  lavished  solely  in  the  service  of 
the  public  were  received  with  general  incredulity. 

A  letter  in  the  Bristol  Journal  of  the  13th  June,  addressed 
to  the  mayor  by  "  a  great  number  of  the  citizens  liable  to 
serve  as  jurors,"  throws  light  on  the  accommodation  pro- 
vided for  the  due  administration  of  justice.  The  writers 
suggested  that  seats  should  be  placed  in  the  Crown  Court  at 
the  Guildhall  for  the  use  of  the  jurors,  who,  being  obliged 
to  stand  throughout  the  trial  of  a  prisoner,  sometimes  lasting 
for  three  or  four  hours,  were  often  so  much  fatigued  as  to  be 
unable  to  perform  their  functions.  The  appeal  was  unnoticed. 

A  great  improvement  near  St.  Stephen's  Church  was 
proposed  during  the  summer,  namely,  the  demolition  of  a 
number  of  old  hovels  which  blocked  up  the  approach  to  the 
church  from  the  newly-constructed  Clare  Street.  The  Cor- 
poration subscribed  £200  towards  the  fund  raised  for  clearing 
the  ground.  Subsequently  the  vestry  extended  the  design, 
and  in  1774  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  obtained  to  remove 
old  buildings,  including  the  former  rectory,  to  widen  the 
narrow  streets  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  to  extend  the 
churchyard.  A  witness  deposed  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons that,  owing  to  the  confined  area  of  the  cemetery  and 
the  number  of  burials,  the  ground  had  become  raised  five 
feet  above  the  natural  level.  Considerable  alterations  were 
also  made  in  the  church  itself,  though  they  are  scarcely  re- 
ferred to  by  Mr.  Barrett,  whose  indifference  to  the  freaks  of 
contemporary  churchwardendom  showed  his  lack  of  good 
taste,  and  caused  marked  defects  in  his  history.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1776,  the  vestry  resolved  on  the  immediate  erection  of 


400  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1772. 

a  new  vestry  room  at  the  east  end  of  the  church,  and  this 
building  caused  the  destruction  of  the  east  window  of  the 
south  aisle.  In  the  following  May,  it  was  resolved  that  "  the 
foundation  of  the  north  aisle  be  built  and  brought  up  win- 
dow high,  so  as  to  make  it  of  an  equal  length  with  the  south 
aisle."  It  is  probable  that  much  of  the  old  tracery  of  the 
windows  was  replaced  about  this  time  by  work  of  a  debased 
character.  The  cost  of  carrying  out  the  improvements  far 
exceeded  the  estimates,  and,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  the 
parochial  authorities  were  saved  from  insolvency  only  by 
the  help  of  the  Corporation. 

Fdix  Farley^s  Journal  of  June  20th,  1772,  acquainted  the 
public  that  Thomas  Boyee  had  completely  fitted  up  "  three 
large  and  elegant  lodging  houses  on  Clifton  Hill,"  which 
appear  to  have  been  built  by  himself  at  a  cost  of  about 
£8,000,  and  received  the  name  of  Boyce's  Buildings.  At- 
tached to  the  houses  were  a  pleasure  garden,  three  summer- 
houses,  ten  coach-houses,  and  stabling  for  34  horses.  The 
projector  became  bankrupt  in  the  following  November. 

A  coach  to  Leicester — an  unprecedented  enterprise — 
started  in  June,  the  owners  undertaking  to  make  the 
journey  bi-weekly  in  two  days.  By  intercepting  the  London 
coaches  to  Liverpool  and  Lancaster  at  Coventry,  Bristolians 
were  offered  greatly  increased  facilities  for  reaching  that 
part  of  the  kingdom. 

On  the  4th  September,  Elizabeth  Inchbald,  who  had  not 
then  completed  her  nineteenth  year,  app?.ared  at  the  King 
Street  theatre  in  the  part  of  Cordelia ;  a  play-bill  of  the 
evening,  preserved  in  R.  Smith's  MS3.,  adds  "  being  her 
first  appearance  on  any  stage."  The  performance  was  for 
the  benefit  of  her  husband,  an  actor  and  painter,  whom  she 
had  married  a  few  weeks  before.  Mrs.  Inchbald  afterwards 
acquired  a  lasting  reputation  and  a  handsome  competence 
by  her  dramas  and  novels.  In  the  summer  of  1774  the 
leading  female  performer  on  the  local  stage  was  Mrs.  Can- 
ning {n^e  Costello),  widow  of  George  Canning,  an  Irishman 
claiming  descent  from  the  renowned  Canynges  of  Bristol, 
and  mother  of  a  four  year  old  boy  of  the  same  name,  des- 
tined to  become  Prime  Minister.  Mrs.  Canning,  who  was 
much  admired  for  her  beauty,  married  an  actor  of  repute, 
named  Reddish,  then  manager  of  Bristol  theatre,  and  fre- 
quently acted  during  three  seasons.  Reddish  dying,  his 
widow  married  one  Hunn,  who,  according  to  Mr.  Smith, 
was  a  liquor  dealer  in  Tucker  Street,  but  by  another 
account  was  a  draper  at  Plymouth,  whom  she  also  outlived 


1772.]  IK  THX   IIOHTBEKTH   CBMTUBT.  401 

The  lady  continued  on  the  stage  till  1801,  when  her  son, 
who  had  been  adopted  by  a  banker  uncle  (father  of  Lora 
Stratford  de  Redoliffe),  and  had  then  been  Under-Secretary 
of  State  for  four  years,  arranged  to  have  his  pension  of 
£500  a-year  settled  on  his  mother  and  sisters. 

"  Mr.  Astley,  performer  of  horsemanship,  from  London," 
a  man  destined  to  attain  fame  as  a  circus  proprietor,  but 
who  at  this  period  picked  up  a  precarious  living  as  a  show- 
man at  Bristol  and  other  fairs,  gave  severtd  equestrian 
entertainments  on  Durdham  Down  during  the  month  of 
October,  depending  for  his  reward  upon  the  liberality  of  the 
spectators.  The  chief  attractions  were  the  performances  of 
his  son,  five  years  old,  and  of  his  wife,  upon  two  bare- 
backed horses.  The  first  locjd  equestrian  performance  in- 
doors seems  to  have  taken  place  in  June,  1786,  when  a  troupe 
of  Astley's  company  occupied  the  "  new  riding  school  in  the 
Borough  Walls,  leading  from  Thomas  Street  to  Temple 
Street." 

The  bakers  of  the  city  were  greatly  irritated  about  this 
time  by  the  proceedings  of  an  interloper  in  the  trade,  named 
Jenkins,  who  persisted  in  selling  bread  at  a  lower  price  than 
that  agreed  upon  by  the  Bakers'  Company,  and  thereby 
gained  great  popular  support.  The  publication  of  violent 
attacks  on  his  character  having  proved  inefi*ectual,  the  Com- 
pany, in  October,  resolved  to  prosecute  him  under  the  law 
of  Elizabeth,  forbidding  any  one  from  pursuing  a  trade  to 
which  he  had  not  served  seven  yecurs'  apprenticeship ;  but 
the  grand  jury  ignored  the  indictment,  and  Jenkins  trium- 
phantly opened  a  shop  in  Wine  Street,  started  a  mill  at  St. 
Anne's  to  defeat  a  combination  of  millers,  and  sold  more 
bread  than  ever.  His  family,  who  succeeded  him,  eventually 
acquired  a  fortune.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  last 
attempt  to  enforce  the  old  Act  by  which  trade  monopolies 
had  been  so  long  defended. 

The  local  theatrical  season  had  been  hitherto  limited  to 
the  summer  months,  during  which  the  Hot  Well  was  at- 
tended by  fashionable  and  pleasure-seeking  visitors.  In 
November,  1772,  an  attempt  was  made  by  a  band  of 
comedians  to  supply  a  series  of  winter  entertainments,  and 
the  Coopers'  Hall  was  engaged  for  that  purpose.  The  Act 
of  1737,  branding  players  as  rogues  and  vagabonds,  being 
still  in  force,  the  company  were  reduced  to  the  usual  ex- 
pedient for  evading  the  law.  The  Bristol  Journal  of  Novem- 
ber 21st  cautiously  announced : — "  We  hear  that  the  first 
theatrical  concert  at  the  Coopers'  Hall  will  be  on  Wednesday 

n  D 


402  .    THE    AKKALS   OP   BRISTOL  fl772. 

next."  No  opposition  having  been  oflfered,  the  following 
week's  Journal  says  : — "  We  hear  the  next  theatrical  con- 
cert (between  the  parts  of  which  will  be  introduced,  gratis, 
Othello  and  the  Lying  Valet)  will  be  on  Monday  next" 
Growing  bolder,  the  next  number  announced  that  three 
"  concerts  "  a  week  would  be  given,  and  similar  advertise- 
ments were  continued  in  later  issues.  The  proceedings 
were  doubtless  very  aggravating  to  the  proprietors  of  the 
neighbouring  theatre,  but  their  hands  were  tied  by  the  fact 
that  the  performances  in  their  own  house  were  as  illegal  as 
those  at  the  hall.  A  correspondent  of  the  Jaurfial  joy  fully 
announced  in  January  that  the  magistrates  had  at  length 
put  the  law  in  operation  against  the  intruders,  and  a  tew 
days  afterwards  four  of  the  principal  performers  were  fined 
i^60  each  ;  but  the  "  concerts  "  nevertheless  continued  until 
the  3rd  April.  In  the  following  winter,  to  the  wrath  of  the 
theatre  owners,  the  interlopers  reappeared,  the  "  concerts  " 
being  resumed  on  the  17th  November,  1773.  Three  weeks 
later,  however,  the  Council  resolved  to  crush  them,  and  on 
the  18th  December  the  managers,  Messrs.  Booth  and  Ken- 
nedy (both  either  in  hiding  or  in  prison),  announced  their 
benefits,  hoping  that  "  their  present  situation,"  which  pre- 
vented them  from  personally  waiting  on  their  friends,  would 
not  deprive  them  of  public  support.  A  promise  was  added 
that  the  hall  would  be  reopened  after  Christmas ;  but  the 
luckless  players  were  unable  to  fulfil  the  pledge. 

In  addition  to  the  annual  gift  of  wine  to  the  two  members 
for  the  city,  the  Council,  in  December,  1772,  made  a  similar 
present  to  Mr.  James  Laroche,  one  of  the  Common  Council, 
and  M.P.  for  Bodmyn,  **  for  his  services  in  Parliament." 
The  gift  was  repeated  in  the  five  following  years,  the  re- 
cipient having  in  the  meantime  been  created  a  baronet  for 
his  zealous  support  of  the  King's  American  policy;  and, 
though  the  present  was  withheld  in  1778,  it  was  resumed  in 
1779.  Owing  to  commercial  misfortunes.  Sir  James  then 
retired  from  Parliament. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  December,  a  pension  of 
£30  a  year  was  granted  to  William  Stevens,  an  insolvent 
linen  draper.  The  only  claim  for  sympathy  put  forward  on 
his  behalf  was  that  he  had  married  a  daugnter  of  "  John 
Bartlett,  Esq.,  late  a  member  of  this  House.''  "When  Stevens 
died,  in  1780,  his  widow  was  granted  a  pension  of  the  same 
amount.  In  1790  a  pension  of  £20  was  proposed  to  be 
conferred  on  the  widow  of  Bartlett's  son.  The  motion  was 
negatived ;  but  the  daughter  of  the  widow  forthwith  peti- 


1772.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTORY.  40S 

tioned  again,  alleging  that  her  mother  had  not  sufficiently 
described  her  distressed  state,  and  the  House  thereupon 
granted  £30  a  year  to  the  daughter,  for  life ! 

On  the  15th  December,  1772,  at  a  meeting  of  a  few  leading 
citizens,  it  was  resolved  to  form  an  association  under  the 
title  of  the  Bristol  Library  Society,  having  for  its  purpose 
the  promotion  of  literature  in  the  city.  The  original  pro- 
moters of  the  movement  were  John  Peach,  John  Ford, 
Joseph  Harford,  Samuel  Farr,  M.D.,  John  Pryor  Estlin, 
Richard  Champion,  Mark  Harford,  William  BuUer,  Abraham  «- 
Ludlow,  M.D.,  and  Joseph  Smith.  Bishop  Newton  accepted 
the  office  of  president.  The  subscription  was  fixed  at  a 
guinea,  with  an  entrance  fee  of  the  same  amount.  (The 
latter  was  afterwards  largely  increased.)  The  society  from 
the  outset  coveted  the  acquisition  of  the  "  Library  House '' 
erected  by  the  Corporation  in  1740  for  the  free  use  of  the 
citizens,  and  private  negotiations  to  attain  that  end  soon 
took  place,  for  in  January,  1773,  at  the  annual  election  of 
civic  officials,  Mr.  Donn,  the  schoolmaster,  who  had  been 
librarian  for  some  years,  was  not  reappointed.  At  the 
Council  meeting  in  the  following  March,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Johnes  petitioned  for  the  vacant  office  of  library  keeper,  and 
a  memorial  was  presented  from  the  society  "  for  increasing 
the  library  and  rendering  the  same  more  useful  to  the 
publick,^*  begging  for  the  free  use  of  the  building,  and  for 
Mr.  Johnes'  appointment.  Both  requests  were  granted  (Mr. 
Johnes's  salary  was  soon  after  raised  to  12  guineas  with 
rent-free  apartments),  and  Mr.  Donn  was  directed  to  quit 
the  premises  at  Midsummer.  The  sum  of  £162  was  next 
paid  by  the  Chamber  for  renovating  the  premises  and  re- 
pairing the  books.  These  preparations  completed,  the 
library  was  opened  on  the  1st  July,  1773,  the  books  be- 
longiDg  to  the  city,  though  kept  apart  from  those  of  the 
society,  being,  of  course,  available  to  the  members.  Although 
the  house  was  built  for  a  free  library,  no  reservation  of  the 
citizens'  rights  was  made  by  the  civic  body,  and  the  entrance 
of  a  non-subscriber  into  the  building  was  soon  treated  by  Mr. 
Johnes  as  an  impertinent  intrusion.  In  1775  the  Common 
Council  rendered  a  further  service  to  the  new  institution. 
In  1728  the  Corporation  had  permitted  Ezekial  Longman, 
ancestor  of  the  great  London  publishers,  to  erect  a  stable 
and  coach-house  in  King  Street,  in  front  of  the  library,  on 
his  paying  a  rent  of  20«.  These  constructions,  with  others 
added  by  the  tenant,  being  found  inconvenient,  the  Chamber 
purchased  the  whole  for  £392,  and  had  them  demolished 


404  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1773. 

"  to  lay  open  the  library  house  and  widen  the  public  way," 
the  Merchant  Venturers  contributing  £100  towards  the  im- 

Erovement.  The  Society  was  well  supported,  and  being 
elped  by  various  donations  (the  Society  of  Arts  subscribed 
10  guineas  annually  for  upwards  of  half  a  century),  its 
literary  treasures  rapidly  increased.  In  1786  it  applied  to 
the  Common  Council  for  a  piece  of  void  ground  adjoining 
the  library,  upon  which  to  build  an  additional  wing.  The 
land  was  granted  at  a  rent  of  2s.  5d.,  and  a  subscription  of 
£100  was  voted  towards  the  intended  building.  The  addition 
was  completed  in  1789.  The  restoration  of  the  Library 
House  to  its  original  purpose  was  not  effected  until  half  a 
century  later.  See  "Annals  of  the  Nineteenth  Century," 
p.  333. 

If  travelling  was  slow  during  the  eighteenth  century,  it 
was  at  least  comparatively  cheap.  An  advertisement  in  the 
Bristol  Journal  of  the  13th  February,  1773,  intimates  that  a 
post  chaise  and  pair  of  horses  to  Bath  or  Sodbury  could  be 
hired  for  9«.,  or  to  Wells,  lbs.  These  charges  were  about 
fifty  per  cent,  higher  than  had  been  usual  a  few  years 
earlier.  In  1760  the  price  to  Wells  was  half  a  guinea,  and 
the  average  rate  on  level  roads  was  then  sixpence  a  mile  in 
summer.  The  ordinary  rate  of  travelling  by  post  chaises 
was  thirty  miles  per  day. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  27th  March,  1773,  a 
petition  was  read  from  owners  of  property  on  Kingsdown 
and  St.  MichaePs  Hill,  representing  that  they  had  within  a 
few  years  built  many  new  houses  there,  but  were  discouraged 
from  making  further  improvements  owing  to  the  great 
damage  done  to  their  property  by  the  populace  during  the 
execution  of  criminals,  and  praying  that  the  gallows  be 
removed  to  Brandon  Hill.  On  the  margin  of  the  minute 
book  is  written  : — **  Nothing  done  herein." 

A  strike  of  tailors  took  place  in  April.  The  workmen, 
alleging  that  their  weekly  earnings  averaged  only  8s.,  de- 
manded that  the  rate  for  the  summer  months,  12^.,  should 
be  raised  to  14^.  The  dispute  was  maintained  for  four 
months,  and  seems  to  have  ended  in  the  success  of  the  men, 
for  in  1777  there  was  another  strike,  caused  by  the  em- 
ployers reducing  the  rate  fi'om  14^.  to  12^.  In  1781,  and 
again  in  1790,  the  masters  advertised  for  journeymen,  offer- 
ing 14s.,  their  hands  having  demanded  lB.s\  On  both  the 
latter  occasions  the  workmen  were  defeated. 

The  weakness  of  rich  Bristolians  in  reference  to  turtle 
was  a  theme  for  much  sarcasm  down  to  the  first  quarter  of 


1773.]  IN   THE    KIQHTBENTH   CSNTURY.  405 

the  present  century.  Mr.  Nugent  has  been  shown  describ* 
ing  the  civic  dignitaries  as  **  full  of  turtle,"  and  from  his 
time  to  that  of  Byron,  who  said  much  the  same  thing, 
many  jokes  were  cracked  at  the  expense  of  the  citizens. 
Of  late  years,  thanks  to  Mr.  Punch,  the  stream  of  banter  has 
been  diverted  upon  the  Corporation  of  London,  and  the 
witticisms  upon  Bristol  turtle  eaters  have  been  almost  for- 
gotten. The  trade  appears  to  have  attained  its  highest 
point  at  the  period  now  under  review.  The  Bristol  Journal 
of  July  17th,  1773,  announces : — "  Just  imported,  several 
large  and  small  turtle  from  2  to  120  lb.,  and  from  Is,  to  2«. 
per  lb.  To  be  sold  at  the  Old  Turtle  Warehouse,  next  door 
to  All  Saints^  Conduit,  Com  Street " — a  convenient  locality 
for  the  dignitaries  at  the  opposite  Council  House.  At  this 
time  a  famous  victualler,  John  "Weeks,  had  just  become 
tenant  of  the  Bush  tavern,  fronting  the  Exchange,  where 
he  dressed  turtle  with  such  remarkable  success  that  his  soup 
became  celebrated  throughout  the  country,  large  quantities 
being  prepared  for  distant  consumption.  In  July,  1776,  he 
advertised  "  turtle  ordinaries  every  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and 
Saturday  during  the  turtle  season,"  at  bs.  a  head.  Weeks's 
renown  as  a  caterer  extended  over  thirty  years,  and  he  is 
said  to  have  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
(George  IV.).  In  1781  the  Corporation  accounts  contain  the 
following  item : — "  Paid  for  a  small  turtle  sent  to  the 
Recorder  (Dunning)  as  a  present,  £6  16>f.  4d."  In  1796 
the  proprietors  of  the  Bush,  White  Lion,  Talbot,  and  Mon- 
tague hotels  announced  that  fresh  turtle  was  dressed  by 
them  every  day  during  the  season. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  December,  1773,  the 
master  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital  and  the  mistress  of 
the  Red  Maids'  School  were  voted  an  extra  sum  of  £42  each 
(tl  per  scholar)  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  provisions. 
The  children  in  the  two  charities  were  "  farmed  "  by  their 
teachers,  the  master  of  the  Hospital  being  allowed  at  this 
time  £10  per  boy  for  clothing,  food,  and  instruction,  whilst 
the  mistress  of  the  girls  received  £7  per  head,  together  with 
the  profits  derived  from  the  needlework  at  which  the  chil- 
dren were  almost  constantly  employed — their  school  lessons 
being  confined  to  reading. 

The  Council,  at  the  same  meeting,  ordered  that  a  hogs- 
head of  wine  should  be  forwarded  to  the  recorder,  as  an 
acknowledgment  **  for  his  advice."  The  fee  of  the  recorders 
from  the  time  of  Sir  Michael  Foster  had  been  £60  for  each 
gaol  delivery.      It  was  now  probably  thought  that  this 


406  THE    ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1774 

honorarium  was  insufficient.  At  all  events,  the  gift  of  wine 
was  renewed  annually,  and  continued  until  the  reform  of 
the  Corporation. 

In  the  session  of  1774  a  Bill  was  promoted  by  the  Bristol 
turnpike  trustees  for  a  renewal  of  their  powers,  then  about 
to  expire,  and  for  the  inclusion  in  the  trust  of  Gallows  Acre 
Lane,  of  the  road  from  the  top  of  Park  Street  to  the  bottom 
of  Clifton  Hill,  of  the  lane  from  Stoke's  Croft  to  the  Black- 
birds Inn  Gate,  Stapleton  Boad,  and  of  the  road  from 
Gallows  Acre  Lane  to  Whiteladies'  Road.  The  two  last- 
named  proposals  excited  much  local  agitation,  and  petitions 
against  them  were  adopted  by  the  poor  law  guardians  and 
by  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens,  on  the  ground  that  the 
large  traffic  between  the  Hot  Well  and  Bath,  as  well  as 
that  between  Wales  and  the  South  of  England,  then  passing 
through  Bristol,  would  be  diverted,  to  the  great  loss  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  opposition  was  successful  in  forcing  the 
trustees  to  modify  their  scheme.  Power  to  make  a  turnpike 
road  from  the  top  of  Stokers  Croft  to  Stapleton  Road  was, 
however,  obtained  a  few  years  later,  and  Ashley  Road  was 
opened  in  1786. 

On  the  22nd  February,  1774,  the  philanthropic  John 
Howard  paid  his  first  visit  to  Bristol  in  the  course  of  his 
remarkable  exertions  for  the  promotion  of  prison  reform. 
It  is  difficult  for  later  generations  to  render  full  justice  to 
Howard^s  dauntless  labours,  inasmuch  as  the  horrors  he  had 
to  encounter  have  long  passed  away.  That  he  ran  no 
trifling  risk  is  attested  by  the  facts  relating  to  Somerset 
prison  recorded  at  page  172,  and  by  the  circumstance  that  a 
lord  mayor,  an  alderman,  two  judges,  and  the  greater  part 
of  a  London  jury  perished  from  gaol  fever  caught  in  court 
in  1760.  These  and  many  other  warnings  had  produced  no 
effect  on  the  authorities  when  Howard  began  his  mission. 
The  Castle  prison  at  Gloucester,  which  he  had  visited  before 
reaching  Bristol,  was  found  in  a  wretched  condition.  The 
floor  of  the  main  ward  was  so  ruinous  that  it  could  not  be 
washed ;  the  male  and  female  felons  were  herded  together 
in  a  single  day-room  ;  a  large  dunghill  lay  against  the  steps 
leading  to  the  dormitories ;  and  the  gaoler,  having  no  salary, 
made  his  living  out  of  the  profits  of  the  liquor  sold  to  the 
prisoners,  and  by  taxing  the  debtors  brought  under  his 
charge.  "  Many  prisoners,"  Howard  noted,  '*  died  there  in 
the  course  of  the  year."  Newgate  prison,  in  Bristol,  was 
overcrowded  with  inmates,  but  was  in  a  better  sanitary 
state  than  that  of  Gloucester,  though  the  "  dungeon,"  or 


1774.]  IN  TEE   KIGHTEKNTH   CKXtUKY.  407 

night  room  for  male  felons,  often  densely  crowded,  was 
eighteen  steps  underground,  and  only  17  feet  in  diameter. 
"  No  bedding,  nor  straw."  In  the  yard  the  criminals  of  all 
ages  and  both  sexes  mingled  with  the  insolyent  debtors, 
even  the  poorest  of  the  latter  class  paying  the  gaoler,  who 
had  no  salary,  lO^d.  a  week  for  the  lodgings  in  which  they 
were  incarcerated  by  their  creditors.  There  were  38  felons 
and  68  debtors  in  Newgate  at  the  time  of  Howard's  inspec- 
tion. Bridewell  was  in  a  worse  state  than  the  gaol,  the 
rooms  being  very  dirty,  and  the  air  offensive  from  open 
sewers.  There  was  no  bedding,  no  employment,  insufficient 
water,  and  the  only  food  was  two  pennyworth  of  bread  per 
head  daily.  At  Lawford's  Gate  oridewell  there  was  **  a 
dark  room,  the  dungeon,  about  12  feet  by  7,  in  which  the 
felons  slept,  except  those  who  could  afford  to  pay  for  beds. 
The  rooms  were  without  chimneys,  and  yet  the  inmates 
were  never  allowed  to  leave  them.  A  prisoner  had  no 
allowance  for  food,  except  he  was  very  poor,  when  he  had 
twopence  a  day."  Howard  paid  repeated  visits  to  Bristol, 
where  he  generally  stayed  for  some  time  at  the  Hot  Well. 
He  noted  in  December,  1776,  that  he  had  released  a  woman 
from  Bridewell,  who  had  been  acquitted  at  the  quarter 
sessions,  but  was  detained  for  nonpayment  of  fees,  Ss,  6d. 
Some  improvements  were  effected  in  Newgate  after  the 
publication  of  Howard's  reports  ;  but  he  describes  it  in  1787 
as  '*  white  without  and  foul  within;  the  dungeon  and  several 
rooms  very  dirty.  The  allowance  still  to  felons  only  a  penny 
loaf  before  trial,  and  a  twopenny  loaf  (l^lb.)  after  convic- 
tion." At  his  last  inspection,  May,  17^,  the  gaol  was 
found  "  much  cleaner,"  and  Bridewell  "  perfectly  clean." 
The  improvement,  however,  was  of  brief  duration  (See 
"  Annals  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,"  p.  66). 

A  musical  festival  took  place  in  the  Cathedrjd  on  the  31st 
March,  1774,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Infirmary.  During  the 
morning  service,  to  which  the  admission  was  free,  the  per- 
formances consisted  of  "  the  grand  Dettingen  Te  Deum,  a 
manuscript  Anthem,  and  the  Coronation  Anthem,  all  com- 
posed by  the  late  Mr.  Handel."  In  the  evening  "  The 
Messiah  "  was  given,  "  between  the  parts  of  which  Master 
Charles  Wesley  performed  a  concerto  on  the  organ."  The 
vocalists  and  instrumentalists  were  ninety-one  in  number. 
"  Tickets,  bs.  Sd,  each  "  ;  and  the  committee  promised  that 
the  Cathedral  should  be  "  well-aired  "  for  the  occasion.  The 
festival  realised  a  profit  of  £100. 

The  progress  of  the  quawrel  between  the  American  colo- 


408  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1774. 

nies  and  the  mother  country  suspended  the  white  slave 
trade,  so  long  carried  on  under  the  name  of  emigration,  to 
which  repeated  reference  has  been  made.  The  latest  record 
of  the  traflSc  has  been  found  in  the  New  York  Gazette  of  May 
10th,  1774,  an  advertisement  notifying  that  a  number  of 
"  servants  "  had  just  arrived,  and  were  then  for  sale  on 
board  the  Commerce,  "  amongst  whom  are  a  number  of 
weavers,  taylors,  blacksmiths,  masons,  joiners,  .  .  .  and 
spinsters  from  14  to  36  years  of  age.  Apply  to  .  .  .  the 
master,  on  board."  A  letter  in  the  Bristol  Journal  about  a 
fortnight  earlier  quotes  the  price  of  these  imports  at  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  at  about  £16  currency  per  head. 
The  trade  revived  after  the  colonies  had  gained  their  inde- 
pendence. In  November,  1800,  William  Cobbett,  in  his 
Porcupine^  stated  that  he  had  personally  seen  a  cargo  of 
emigrants  put  up  for  sale  at  Wilmington,  and  treated  as 
mere  cattle,  in  1793 ;  adding  that  an  Irishman  oflfered  him 
a  little  girl,  seven  years  of  age,  for  six  guineas,  her  servitude 
to  last  until  she  reached  twenty-one  years.  The  child,  with 
her  sisters,  was  to  be  sold  to  pay  for  the  passage  of  her  sick, 
and  therefore  valueless,  mother. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  13th  August,  1774,  an 
order  was  made  for  the  demolition  of  Froom  Gate,  Christmas 
Street,  "  in  order  to  make  the  way  there  more  commodious." 
A  committee  also  reported  that  the  removal  of  Small  Street 
Gate  would  greatly  improve  the  locality,  and  that  certain 
inhabitants  had  offered  to  undertake  the  work,  as  well  as  to 
demolish  some  projecting  tenements  adjoining  the  barrier. 
On  the  recommendation  of  the  committee,  the  Chamber 
voted  £3C0  towards  the  estimated  outlay  of  £600.  (A 
further  subscription  of  £60  was  made  in  1776.)  Another 
street  improvement  was  ordered  three  weeks  later.  A 
committee  reported  that  Blind  Steps,  between  Nicholas  and 
Baldwin  Streets,  were  very  narrow,  dark,  and  dangerous, 
and  that  it  was  desirable  to  make  a  better  thoroughfare,  by 
removing  some  old  hovels  and  lofts,  the  property  of  the 
Corporation.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  orders  were 
given  for  carrying  out  the  work. 

On  the  29th  August  the  rector  and  churchwardens  of  St. 
Michael's  published  a  circular  stating  that  the  fabric  of  the 
church  had  been  condemned  by  Mr.  Thomas  Patey,  archi- 
tect, as  being  in  a  ruinous  condition.  As  it  provided  ac- 
commodation for  only  660  persons  out  of  an  estimated 
population  of  2,000,  it  was  deemed  inadvisable  to  repair  the 
old  structure,  and  Mr.  Patey  having  reported  that  a  "  roomy, 


1774.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  409 

elegant,  and  commodious  new  church  "  conld  be  erected  for 
£1,800  or  £2,000,  the  authorities  solicited  subscriptions  to 
carry  his  suggestion  into  effect.  The  parishioners  responded 
liberally  to  this  appeal ;  the  Corporation  contributed  £300 
and  the  Merchants'  Society  £160;  and,  the  fund  soon 
amounting  to  £2,400,  the  old  church,  with  the  exception  of 
the  tower,  was  demolished  in  the  spring  of  1776.  In  the 
following  July  the  foundation  stone  was  laid  of  the  new 
edifice,  and  the  building — a  striking  specimen  of  the  bad 
taste  of  the  age — was  finished  at  an  outlay  of  £3,100.  The 
church  was  reopened  on  the  22nd  June,  1777. 

The  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  the  autumn  of  1774 
brought  about  the  most  interesting  election  that  ever  took 
place  in  Bristol.  Lord  Clare  and  Mr.  Brickdale  offered  them- 
selves for  re-election  ;  but  the  Whig  party  was  much  dis- 
contented with  the  conduct  of  the  former,  who  was  charged 
with  having  become  an  obsequious  supporter  of  the  Kling's 
Americfiin  policy;  and  Mr.  Henry  Cruger,  by  birth  an  ^ 
American,  and  an  advocate  of  conciliatory  measures  towards 
the  colonies,  came  forward  in  opposition  to  the  once  popular 
peer.  A  meeting  of  Whigs  was  held  on  the  6th  October, 
when  Mr.  Cruger ^s  action  was  unanimously  approved.  Some 
of  the  more  zealous  opponents  of  American  taxation  being 
desirous  that  both  the  seats  should  be  claimed,  the  name  of 
Edmund  Burke  was  brought  forward  by  two  influential 
Quakers,  Joseph  Harford  and  Richard  Champion,  but  the  v 
proposal  was  disapproved  by  Mr.  Cruger's  friends,  and  was 
not  pressed  to  a  vote.  Burke  was  then  at  Bath,  awaiting 
the  decision  of  the  party.  Upon  learning  the  result,  he 
proceeded  to  Malton,  where  he  was  returned  without  opposi- 
tion. The  formal  nomination  of  candidates  for  Bristol  took 
place  on  the  7th  October,  when  Lord  Clare,  Mr.  Brickdale, 
and  Mr.  Cruger  presented  themselves;  and  after  about  a 
dozen  votes  had  been  recorded  for  each,  the  proceedings  were 
adjourned.  Lord  Clare,  mortified  by  the  discovery  that  his 
popularity  was  at  an  end,  and  that  many  of  his  former  sup- 
porters were  working  zealously  for  Cruger,  left  the  city  in 
the  evening,  after  intimating  that  he  should  not  continue 
the  contest.  His  retreat  revived  the  hopes  of  Burke's 
friends,  who  held  a  hurried  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  drew  up  a  letter  to  the  great  orator  pressing  him  to 
return,  and  despatched  a  messenger  with  it  to  Malton. 
Polling  on  the  8th  was  practically  suspended  owing  to  the 
announcement  of  Lord  Clare's  determination  and  to  the 
excitement  caused  by  the  prospect  of  another  candidate. 


^ 


410  THE   ANKALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1774. 

only  twenty  votes  being  tendered  during  the  day.  On  the 
10th  (Monday)  Burke  was  proposed  by  Kichard  Champion, 
in  the  midst  of  vehement  protests  by  the  friends  of  Brick- 
dale,  and  the  contest  now  fairly  set  in,  the  poll  of  the  day 
being: — Cruger,  95;  Burke,  71;  Brickdale,  46.  Mr.  Burke 
reached  Bristol  from  Malton  in  the  afternoon  of  the  13th, 
after  what  was  regarded  as  a  break-neck  journey  of  270 
miles  in  44^  hours.  Upon  his  arrival  he  proceeded  to  the 
Guildhall,  and  was  cordially  received  upon  offering  his  ser- 
vices. He  subsequently,  for  several  successive  days,  ad- 
dressed numerous  meetings  of  the  electors,  until  he  lost  his 
voice  through  hoarseness.  Hannah  More,  hearing  of  his 
mishap,  sent  him  a  wreath  of  flowers  with  the  following 
couplet  attached,  conveying  her  mediocre  esteem  of  her 
fellow  citizens : — 

Great  Edmund^s  hoarse,  they  say ;  the  reason^s  clear. 
Could  Attic  lungs  respire  BoBotian  air  ? 

The  poll  remained  open  23  days,  although  the  number  of 
voters  during  the  last  week  did  not  average  much  more  than 
a  hundred  daily.  At  the  close  of  the  contest  on  the  2nd 
November,  the  numbers  were: — for  Mr.  Cruger,  3,566;  Mr. 
Burke,  2,707  ;  Mr.  Brickdale,  2,466 ;  Lord  Clare,  283.  The 
formal  declaration  of  the  result  was  made  on  the  3rd  ;  after 
which,  says  a  local  journal,  "  the  members  were  carried 
through  the  principal  streets  in  chairs  richly  ornamented, 
amidst  an  incredible  number  of  people,  whose  acclamations 
were  beyond  everything  of  the  kind  that  was  ever  seen  or 
heard  in  this  city."  The  bells  were,  however,  silent,  bj'  ex- 
press order  of  the  clergy.  A  series  of  private  entertainments 
followed.  Burke,  writing  to  his  wife  on  the  8th  November, 
said : — "  I  begin  to  breathe,  but  my  visits  are  not  half  over. 
...The  dinners  would  never  end.  But  we  close  the  poll 
of  engagements  next  Saturday  " — (the  12th).  Peculiar  ideas 
as  to  freedom  of  election  were  then  prevalent.  Cruger's 
committee  publicly  thanked  the  mayor  (C.  Hotchkin)  *'  for 
his  great  liberality  in  permitting  the  publicans  in  his  ward 
to  vote  as  they  thought  proper."  The  aldermen  of  six  other 
wards  voted  for  Brickdale  ;  it  is  significant  that  no  similar 
compliment  was  offered  to  them.  Only  two  aldermen  sup- 
ported Burke  and  Cruger.  Not  a  single  beneficed  clergyman 
in  the  city  supported  Burke,  and  only  one  did  not  vote 
against  him.  Upwards  of  400  freemen  were  brought  from 
London ;  one  came  from  Guernsey,  two  from  Ireland,  and 
one  is  recorded  as  "  John  Lloyd,  merchant,  Charlestown, 
South  Carolina."     In  addition  to  these,  an  immense  number 


J  774.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTUUT.  411 

of  men  (nearly  2,100)  were  placed  on  the  freemen's  roll,  the 
fees  being  paid  by  the  committees  of  the  rival  candidates. 
The  right  of  no  small  portion  of  these  persons  was  derived 
from  their  having  sumilarily  married  the  daughters  of  free, 
men  for  the  mere  purpose  of  obtaining  a  vote,  the  newly- 
united  couples  often  separating  for  ever  on  leaving  the 
church.  (One  of  the  devices  for  divorce  imagined  by  such 
couples  was  to  stand  on  each  side  of  a  grave  in  the  church- 
yard, and  to  separate  after  repeating  the  words  "  Death  us 
do  part.")  The  fees  of  these  weddings  were  of  course  de- 
frayed by  the  election  agents.  As  the  constituency  was  also 
copiously  regaled  throughout  the  contest,  the  gross  outlay  of 
the  contending  parties  must  have  been  enormous.  Burke, 
in  a  letter  to  his  wife's  sister,  stated  that  he  had  been  re- 
turned at  no  expense  to  himself;  but  six  years  later,  in  a 
letter  to  Joseph  Harford,  he  referred  with  "  horror  "  to  the 
burden  he  had  entailed  on  his  friends.  Mr.  Brickdale  peti- 
tioned against  the  return,  contending  that  the  nomination 
of  Burke  after  the  poll  had  been  opened  was  illegal,  that 
great  numbers  had  been  allowed  to  vote  whose  freedoms  had 
been  granted  after  the  issue  of  the  writ,  and  that  his  defeat 
had  been  due  to  corruption.  The  last  charge  was  withdrawn ; 
the  committee  of  the  Commons  decided  that  the  post-nomi- 
nation was  valid  ;  and  as  the  petitioner's  agents  admitted 
that  772  of  Brickdale's  voters  had  been  admitted  freemen 
during  the  contest,  the  sitting  members  were  declared  duly 
elected.  After  the  dismissal  of  the  petition,  Burke  was 
requested  to  return  to  Bristol  to  take  part  in  a  triumphal 
procession,  but  he  declined  to  neglect  his  "  duty  for  such  a 
foolish  piece  of  pageantry."  Cruger  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  on  the  27th  February,  1776,  he  was  met  at  Keynsham 
by  about  a  thousand  citizens  on  horseback  and  fifty  private 
carriages,  and  escorted  amidst  cheering  crowds  to  his  house 
in  Great  George  Street,  a  gay  triumphal  arch  being  reared 
in  the  newly-opened  Clare  Street.  The  story  that  Mr. 
Cruger  was  so  incapable  of  public  speaking  as  to  be  forced 
to  cry  at  the  declaration  of  the  poll,  "  I  say  ditto  to  Mr. 
Burke,"  is  a  silly  fiction.  Cruger,  as  senior  member,  was 
the  first  to  return  thanks,  and  made  an  appropriate  address. 
He  subsequently  spoke  so  ably  in  the  House  oi  Commons  on 
American  affairs  as  to  be  complimented  by  his  party  leaders. 
Shortly  after  the  election,  a  satire  was  published  entitled 
*'The  Consultation,  A  Mock  Heroick  Poem,"  written  bj' 
James  Thistlethwaite,  who  had  served  an  apprenticeship  to 
a  stationer  in  Com  Street,  and  claimed  to  be  a  friend  of 


412  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1774. 

Chatterton.  The  author  appears  to  have  been  utterly  desti** 
tute  of  principle,  but  he  was  a  not  unskilful  imitator  of  the 
style  of  Churchill,  and  excelled  that  master  of  invective  in 
the  vulgarity  of  his  abuse.  There  are  strong  reasons  for 
asserting  that  Thistlethwaite,  after  printing  the  book,  in 
which  upwards  of  a  hundred  Tory  citizens  were  libelled, 
endeavoured  to  wring  money  out  of  his  victims  by  offering 
to  suppress  it  if  he  were  compensated  for  his  trouble.  This 
trick  meeting  with  slender  success,  the  satire  was  published, 
and  as  personalities  are  always  agreeable  to  certain  minds, 
it  had  a  rapid  sale  ;  and  the  slanderer  jubilantly  produced  a 
second  edition,  with  additional  vituperation.  A  copy  of  the 
original  pamphlet,  annotated  by  Mr.  Richard  Smith,  of  gos- 
sipping  fame,  is  in  the  JefFeries  Collection.  Some  of  the 
notes  are  amusing.  Thus,  in  a  reference  to  Sir  Abraham 
Isaac  Elton,  the  town  clerk,  Mr.  Smith  alleges  that  it  was 
said  the  corporate  functionary  was  all  jaw  and  no  law,  while 
one  Vernon,  a  contemporary  local  barrister,  was  described  as 
all  law  and  no  jaw,  and  Rowles  Scudamore,  judge  of  the 
sheriff's  court,  neither  law  nor  jaw.  Speaking  of  Daniel 
Harson,  collector  of  Customs,  Smith  says  he  was  "  formerly  a 
dissenting  minister " ;  while  John  Powell,  who  succeeded 
Harson,  was  "  formerly  a  medical  man  on  board  a  slave  ship." 
As  to  Henry  Burgum,  the  pewterer,  to  whom  Thistlethwaite 
dedicated  the  satire  in  viliiying  terms,  the  note- maker  st-ates 
that  twenty  men  whom  Burgum  brought  up  to  vote  for 
Cruger  and  Burke  were  decorated  by  him  with  pewter  hats. 
Thistlethwaite,  who  walked  about  "with  the  butt  ends  of 
two  horse  pistols  peeping  out  of  his  coat  pockets,"  produced 
another  lamjx>on  in  1775,  styled  "  The  Tories  in  the  Dumps," 
savagely  commenting  on  the  failure  of  the  election  petition. 
The  author  afterwards  removed  to  London,  where  he  was 
for  some  years  a  hack  to  booksellers  and  law  stationers. 

A  more  agreeable  literary  souvenir  of  the  election  is  to  be 
found  in  Thompson's  Life  of  Hannah  More.  During  the 
contest  a  party  of  Cruger's  friends  halted  before  the  house  of 
the  Mores  in  Park  Street  (next  door  to  Cruger's)  and  gave 
**  three  cheers  for  Sappho  " — whom  some  of  the  assisting  mob 
imagined  to  be  a  new  candidate.  Burke  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  the  house,  and,  when  his  success  was  assured,  the 
Misses  More  sent  him  a  cockade,  adorned  with  myrtle,  bay 
and  laurel,  and  enriched  with  silver  tassels,  which  Burke 
wore  on  being  **  chaired." 

During  the  four  weeks  that  Burke  remained  in  Bristol, 
he  was  entertained  by  Mr.  Joseph  Smith,  a  merchant  resid* 


1774.]  IN  THK   XIQHTEINXH   CEKTURT.  413 

ing  at  19,  Queen  Square,  but  paid  occasional  visits  to  Blaize 
Castle,  then  belonging  to  Mr.  Thomas  Farr,  and  to  the  house 
at  Henbury  to  which  Bichard  Champion  had  shortly  before 
removed.  Grateful  for  the  kindness  of  the  Smith  family, 
the  new  member  requested  Champion  to  exert  his  utmost 
skill  in  the  manufacture  of  a  china  tea-service  for  presenta- 
tion to  his  host's  wife.  Champion  was  preparing  a  still  more 
exquisite  specimen  of  his  art  in  the  shape  of  a  service  destined 
for  Mrs.  Burke.  The  result  was  the  production  of  works 
which,  for  the  purity  of  the  material  and  the  splendour  of 
the  ornamentation,  have  never  been  surpassed.  For  an  ade- 
quate description  of  the  services  the  reader  must  be  referred 
to  Mr.  Owen's  "  Ceramic  Art  in  Bristol,"  pp.  95-98.  The 
tea-pot  of  the  Burke  service  was  sold  by  auction  in  1876  for 
A*216  6«.,  a  cup  and  saucer  at  the  same  time  bringing  £91 — 
more  than  thrice  the  value  of  their  weight  in  gold.  The 
cream  jug  was  sold  for  115  guineas  some  years  previously. 
The  teapot  of  the  Smith  set  was  sold  in  1876  for  £74  10*., 
and  a  cup  and  saucer  have  realised  £55. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Council  was  held  in  November, 
for  the  purpose  of  passing  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Lord  Clare 
for  his  lengthy  sei'vices  to  the  citv,  and  for  conferring  the 
freedom  upon  Mr.  Burke.  Lord  Clare,  in  responding  to  the 
compliment,  boasted  of  his  ^*  dutiful  attachment "  to  the 
king,  and  of  his  *'  inflexible  resolution  to  co-operate  in 
maintaining  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  legislature  over 
the  colonies."  His  lordship's  devotion  to  the  king  and  liis 
policj''  was  rewarded  in  1776  by  a  further  elevation  in  the 
peerage,  the  earldom  of  Nugent  being  bestowed  upon  him. 

The  Corporation,  in  December,  voted  a  grant  of  £80  **  to 
assist  the  inhabitants  of  Queen  Square  in  removing  the 
middle  row  of  trees  on  each  side  of  the  square,  and  throwing 
the  double  walks  there  into  one."  At  the  same  meeting,  the 
Council  resolved  to  give  £20  yearly  to  a  chaplain  to  the 
Infirmary,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Johnes,  the  newly-elected 
city  librarian,  was  nominated  to  this  post  also. 

In  1774  the  Jamaica  legislature  passed  two  Acts  to  re- 
strict the  trade  in  slaves.  But  the  Bristol  and  Liverpool 
merchants  petitioned  the  Government  not  to  sanction  the 
measures,  and  their  appeal  was  successful.  The  colonists 
remonstrated,  but  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
replied  that  "we  cannot  allow  the  colonists  to  check  or 
discourage  in  any  degree  a  traffic  so  beneficial  to  the 
nation."  In  a  History  of  Jamaica  published  in  1774,  the 
author  estimates  that  the  yearly  number  of  fresh  slaves 


414  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1775. 

required  to  keep  up  the  stock  in  the  British  plautations  was 
6,000,  which  at  the  prices  of  that  day  involved  an  outlay  of 
£360,000.  The  value  of  negroes  had  doubled  in  the  previous 
16  years.  It  was  the  practice,  he  adds,  of  speculators  to 
buy  slaves,  for  the  purpose  of  hiring  them  to  poor  or  thrift- 
less planters,  who  not  only  paid  from  £8  to  £12  a  year  for 
them,  but  made  good  losses  by  death,  the  proprietors  thus 
earning  a  profit  of  about  16  per  cent. 

According  to  calculations  made  in  1776,  when  the  first 
blood  was  spilt  in  the  war  with  the  revolted  colonies  in 
America,  the  yearly  value  of  the  produce  imported  into 
England  from  the  thirteen  settlements  before  the  struggle 
began  was  upwards  of  three  millions,  while  that  of  the 
home  manufactures  taken  by  the  colonists  sufficed  to 
balance  the  account.  Of  this  great  trade  Bristol  possessed 
a  very  considerable  share,  and  the  effects  of  the  quarrel, 
long  before  the  actual  outbreak  of  hostilities,  was  painfully 
felt  in  many  branches  of  business.  From  casual  notices  in 
the  newspapers,  it  appears  that  a  single  firm  in  the  city 
employed  400  hands  in  making  serges  for  America,  and  that 
the  manufacture  came  wholly  to  an  end.  Another  house 
was  accustomed  to  purchase  every  spring,  for  export  across 
the  Atlantic,  3,CCK)  pieces  of  stuff  made  at  Wiveliscombe, 
but  the  quantity  fell  in  1774  to  200  pieces,  and  afterwards  to 
nothing.  Until  the  quarrel  arose,  the  tobacco-pipe  makers 
of  Bristol — a  numerous  body — each  sent  600  or  600  boxes  of 
pipes  yearly  to  the  colonies,  but  the  exports  ceased  after 
1774.  These  facts,  though  not  very  important  in  them- 
selves, indicate  the  depression  caused  in  many  industries  by 
the  disruption.  In  January,  1776,  before  the  last  fatal 
measures  of  the  Government  had  been  taken,  a  meeting  of 
merchants  trading  with  America  at  all  the  chief  ports  was 
held  in  London,  to  remonstrate  against  the  proceedings  of 
the  Ministry,  and  to  petition  for  a  repeal  of  the  Acts  pro- 
hibiting trade  with  the  colonies.  Petitions  to  a  similar 
effect  were  forwarded  by  the  Merchants'  Society  and  a 
numerous  body  of  Bristol  citizens.  The  appeals,  how- 
ever, fell  upon  deaf  ears ;  and  within  a  few  weeks  8,000 
tons  of  shipping  had  to  return  from  America  unloaded,  the 
blockade  preventing  them  from  landing  their  cargoes.  The 
Bristol  West  India  merchants  joined  with  their  brethren  of 
Liverpool  and  London  in  holding  another  meeting  in  the 
metropolis,  and  a  strong  remonstrance  was  again  adopted 
with  practical  unanimity.  It  was  stated  at  this  gathering 
that  the  amount  of  English  capital  invested  in  the  West 


1775.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  415 

Indies  was  60  millions  sterling ;  that  20,000  hogsheads  of 
sugar  were  taken  by  the  American  settlements,  besides 
10,000  hogsheads  of  refined  sugar  from  England  ;  and  that 
the  West  Indies  were  dependent  on  the  revolted  States  for 
food  and  timber.  No  effect  was  produced  on  the  Cabinet, 
or  rather  on  the  Crown,  which  persisted  in  its  attempt  to 
trample  down  the  "  rebels  "  and  to  realise  the  merchants' 
predictions  of  wide-spread  commercial  disaster.  Mr.  Baines, 
in  his  History  of  Liverpool,  states  that  the  condition  of 
that  town  so  greatly  deteriorated  during  the  war  that  "  not 
less  than  10,000  out  of  the  40,000  inhabitants  became  de- 
pendent on  charity  for  their  daily  support."  In  Bristol  the 
poor  rates  increased  about  160  per  cent.,  and  great  distress 
prevailed.  The  general  depression,  however,  did  not  abate 
the  determination  of  the  influential  local  supporters  of  the 
Government  to  defend  its  policy.  On  the  18th  September  a 
memorial  was  addressed  to  the  mayor  by  Thomas  Tyndall, 
Michael  Miller,  John  Vaughan,  Slade  Baker,  and  other 
leading  Tories,  asking  him  to  summon  the  Council  to  ad- 
dress the  King  in  support  of  the  Ministerial  policy.  A 
meeting  was  accordingly  convened  for  the  21st,  but  a 
quorum  did  not  attend.  The  agitators  then  asked  the 
mayor  for  the  Guildhall  to  hold  a  public  meeting,  which 
took  place  on  the  28th,  when  an  address,  expressing  ab- 
horrence of  the  rebellion  and  a  wish  for  its  forcible  sup- 
pression, was  adopted.  Some  opposition  was  manifested  by 
American  merchants  and  others,  but  a  reporter  notes  that 
"  numbers  prevailed,  and  they  were  silenced.*'  The  address, 
which  was  signed  by  nearly  all  the  local  clergy  and  many 
merchants,  was  "  very  graciously  "  received  by  the  king. 
An  address  praying  for  conciliatory  measures  was,  however, 
drawn  up  by  John  Fisher  Weare,  Richard  Champion,  and 
others,  and  was  numerously  signed.  A  few  weeks  later 
Mr.  Burke  attempted  to  introduce  a  Bill  into  the  Lower 
House  to  lay  the  grounds  for  reconciliation,  but  was  de- 
feated by  an  immense  majority.  During  the  autumn  the 
Americans  began  to  fit  out  privateers,  which  were  soon 
preying  upon  English  merchantmen  in  all  parts  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  even  on  our  own  coasts.  The  step  provoked 
measures  of  retaliation,  and  the  energies  of  the  two  nations 
were  vigorously  devoted  to  the  destruction  of  commerce 
through  the  remaining  years  of  the  war.  The  foreign  trade 
of  Bristol  rapidly  declined,  until  it  sank  to  a  small  fraction 
of  its  previous  dimensions.  In  1776  the  number  of  ships 
paying  mayor's  dues  was  629;  in  1781  it  shrank  to  191. 


416  THK   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1775. 

(This,  however,  was  partially  due  to  the  refusals  to  pay  the 
dues  about  to  be  recorded.)  The  African  trade  was  virtually 
suspended,  and  the  ships  laid  up.  Even  the  number  of 
privateers  was  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  ships  sent 
out  in  previous  wars.  In  January,  1778,  it  was  stated  in  the 
House  of  Lords  that  the  number  of  British  ships  destroyed 
or  taken  by  the  enemy  was  659,  of  a  computed  value  of 
£1,800,000;  that  of  the  vessels  thus  lost  (many  of  which 
belonged  to  Bristol),  247  were  engaged  in  the  West  India 
trade ;  and  that  all  imports  from  America  had  risen  enor- 
mously in  price — tobacco  from  7{d,  to  2«.  6d.  per  lb.,  and 
other  articles  in  proportion. 

The  extent  of  the  Bristol  postal  establishment  at  this 
date  is  accidentally  brought  to  light  by  a  paragraph  in  the 
Liverpool  Advertiser  of  February  17th,  1776.  A  memorial 
had  been  sent  to  the  Postmasters  General,  complaining  that 
there  was  only  one  letter-carrier  for  the  delivery  of  all  the 
letters  received  in  Liverpool.  The  answer  of  the  authorities 
was  that  only  one  letter-carrier  was  maintained  in  any 
provincial  town,  and  that  they  did  not  think  themselves 
justified  in  incurring  for  Liverpool  the  expense  of  another. 
An  additional  Bristol  postman  was,  however,  appointed 
previous  to  January,  1778. 

A  melancholy  accident  occurred  on  the  17th  March  to 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Newnham,  one  of  the  minor  canons  of  the 
Cathedral.  The  reverend  gentleman,  who  was  about  25 
years  of  age,  had  gone  with  his  sister  and  two  friends  to 
visit  a  singular  cavern  near  Brentry,  known  as  Pen  Park 
Hole.  Endeavouring  to  ascertain  the  depth  of  the  cave, 
Mr.  Newnham  hung  over  the  opening  for  the  purpose  of 
throwdng  down  a  line,  when  the  small  branch  of  an  ash 
tree  to  which  he  was  clinging  suddenly  broke,  and  he  was 
precipitated  to  the  bottom — nearly  200  feet — into  a  deep 
pool  of  w^ater.  Although  repeated  efforts  were  made  to 
recover  the  body,  it  was  not  rescued  until  the  26th  April. 

A  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Augustine's  parish 
having  offered  to  carry  out  the  clauses  of  the  Improvement 
Act  of  1766  in  reference  to  the  removal  of  old  houses 
standing  on  the  Butts,  or  Quay,  from  opposite  the  end  of 
Denmark  Street  to  the  end  of  Trinity  Street,  and  to  sup- 
plement this  work  by  widening  the  narrow  and  dangerous 
road  from  St.  Augustine's  Back  to  College  Green,  the  Com- 
mon Council,  on  the  1st  April,  acceded  to  the  proposal.  The 
expense  was  estimated  at  £2,400,  one  third  of  which  had 
been  promised   by  the  Merchant  Venturers'  Society  j  and 


1775.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  417 

the   Coi-poration  contributed   the  same  amount.     The  im- 
provement was  completed  in  1776. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  April,  177B,  a  committee 
recommended  the  prosecution  of  all  persons,  "  particularly 
members  of  this  House/'  who  had  refused  to  pay  the  town 
dues,  that  is  the  local  tax  on  goods  imported  and  exported, 
payable  to  the  Corporation.  The  report  was  confirmed,  and 
actions  were  soon  after  commenced  against  Mr.  "William 
Miles  and  Mr.  Henry  Cruger,  two  leading  merchants,  who 
contended  that  the  dues  were  illegal,  and  who  both  served 
the  office  of  mayor  whilst  the  matter  at  issue  remained 
unsettled.  In  January,  1778,  the  defendants  published  an 
appeal  to  their  fellow  merchants  in  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal. 
"  The  fee  in  dispute,"  they  wrote,  "  has  within  BO  years 
advanced  more  than  treble,  and  still  the  body  corporate  are 
not  satisfied,  which  growing  evil  necessarily  alarms  us,  and 
is  of  such  a  nature  that,  if  established,  must  put  a  stop  in 
a  great  degree  to  the  trade  of  the  city."  The  writers 
requested  the  citizens  to  attend  a  meeting  in  the  Guildhall 
during  the  following  week,  "  to  consider  of  a  proper  mode 
to  resist  this  attack."  No  report  of  the  gathering  is  to  be 
found  in  the  local  journals,  beyond  the  fact  that  Mr.  Cruger 
presided  and  that  Mr.  Miles  made  a  vigorous  speech  against 
the  obnoxious  burden.  "What  pecuniary  support  they  ob- 
tained from  other  merchants  is  unknown ;  but  the  civic 
records  show  that  many  firms  refused  to  pay  the  dues.  The 
Corporation  seems  to  have  been  lethargic  in  pursuing  the 
litigation,  the  actions  not  being  brought  to  trial  for  more 
than  twelve  years.  The  matter  excited  much  bitterness  of 
feeling.  A  writer  in  Felix  Farley^ s  Journal  of  November 
Bth,  1785,  asked,  if  Strafford  was  punished,  "  what  punish- 
ment ought  to  fall  on  a  Whig  C in  exercising  a  despo- 
tism under  the  pretence  of  prescription  ?  '* 

The  miserable  condition  of  the  unhappy  people  incarcera- 
ted in  Newgate  for  non-payment  of  tneir  debts  led  to  the 
establishment  of  a  local  society  for  the  relief  of  insolvent 
prisoners,  a  meeting  of  which  was  held  on  the  11th  April 
The  report  stated  that  during  the  previous  year  72  debtors 
had  been  released  from  gaol  on  payment  by  the  society  of 
£132  10^. — of  which  sum  £32  12«.  were  demanded  by  the 
gaoler  for  fees.  Many  people  were  flung  into  prison  for 
non-payment  of  only  a  few  shillings,  and,  as  they  were 
compelled  to  provide  their  own  food,  some  would  have 
perished  from  hunger  but  for  relief  obtained  from  the 
charitable.     The  box  provided  for  this  purpose  at  the  door 

B   E 


418  THE   ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL  [1775. 

of  the  gaol  was,  in  seasons  of  extremity,  carried  about  the 
city.  On  at  least  one  occasion,  this  was  turned  to  account 
by  heartless  knaves,  complaint  being  made  in  the  news- 
papers that  through  the  hawking  of  "  false  boxes "  the 
debtors  had  been  defrauded  of  many  donations.  The  "  true 
gaol  box  "  afterwards  bore  the  name  of  the  governor  as  a 
security  against  imposition. 

The  coaching  enterprise  of  John  Weeks,  the  landlord  of 
the  Bush  inn,  excited  much  attention  at  this  period.  In 
April,  1776,  he  advertised  that  "  the  original  Bristol  Dili- 
gence, or  Flying  Post  Chaise,''  would  thenceforth  make  the 
journey  to  London  in  sixteen  hours — a  feat  which  plunged 
old-fashioned  travellers  in  equal  astonishment  and  terror. 
The  fare  was  3d.  a  mile,  and  luggage  was  limited  to  101b.  a 
head.  The  coaches  carried  only  four  passengers  each.  Soon 
afterwards,  Weeks  started  a  fast  coach  to  Birmingham, 
setting  off  early  in  the  morning  and  completing  the  journey 
in  the  evening.  The  owners  of  the  two-days  coach  tried  to 
beat  their  rival  off  the  road  by  reducing  their  fares,  but 
Weeks  lowered  his  rates  also,  and  gave  his  passengers  a 
dinner,  with  wine,  into  the  bargain.  One-day  coaches  to 
Exeter  and  Oxford  followed,  and  the  Bush  soon  attained  the 
first  rank  amongst  local  coaching  houses. 

Amongst  the  curiosities  of  English  taxation,  the  duty 
levied  in  the  last  century  upon  starch  is  entitled  to  a  place. 
In  July^  1775,  the  excise  officers  discovered  an  illicit  starch 
factory  m  St.  James's  Back,  and  brought  the  owner  before 
the  magistrates,  who  fined  him  £500  for  breaking  the  law. 
The  custom  of  powdering  the  hair  with  starch  was  universal 
amongst  the  upper  and  middle  classes  at  this  period,  causing 
a  great  consumption. 

A  now  very  scarce  work,  in  two  volumes,  styled  "  The 
Philosopher  in  Bristol,"  was  published  in  July  by  George 
Routh,  "  printer,  in  the  Maiden  Tavern,  Baldwin  Street." 
The  book,  which  is  a  collection  of  desultory  essays,  was  from 
the  pen  of  a  singularly  prolific  writer,  William  Combe,  born 
in  this  city  in  1741,  and  supposed  to  have  been  the  illegiti- 
mate son  of  a  wealthy  merchant.  Educated  at  Eton  and 
Oxford,  with  a  handsome  person  and  engaging  manners. 
Combe  studied  with  a  view  to  becoming  a  barrister,  but 
soon  floated  into  fashionable  society,  and  rapidly  spent  all 
his  means.  Falling  into  complete  destitution,  ne  was  by 
tarns  a  common  soldier,  a  waiter  at  a  Swansea  inn,  a  cook 
at  Douai  College,  and  a  private  in  the  French  army.  In 
1772  he  was  again  in  England,  and,  probably  through  the 


1775.]  IN   THB    EIGHTEKSTH    CENTURY.  419 

receipt  of  some  legacy,  he  soon  after  mingled  with  the 
fashionable  company  at  the  Hot  Well,  amazing  the  public 
by  his  profuse  mode  of  living,  his  couple  of  chariots,  and  his 
grand  retinue  of  servants ;  from  which  he  was  commonly 
known  as  Count  Combe.  "  The  Philosopher  in  Bristol,"  one 
of  his  earliest  works,  must  have  been  written  during  this 
blaze  of  magnificence.  A  comedy  called  "  The  Flattering 
Milliner,''  of  which  he  was  also  the  author,  was  played  at 
the  Bristol  theatre  on  the  11th  September,  1776.  Having 
returned  to  London  almost  as  poor  as  ever,  he  sought  to  gain 
a  precarious  living  by  literary  labour,  and  produced  a 
number  of  versified  satires  and  other  fugitive  essays,  which 
like  all  his  works  were  published  anonymously.  In  the 
eventfnl  year  1789,  when  political  discussions  became  a 
mania,  he  started  as  a  party  pamphleteer,  and  is  alleged  to 
have  had  no  scruples  in  serving  either  camp.  He  gained, 
however,  the  favour  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  enjoyed  a  pension  of 
£200  until  the  resignation  of  his  patron.  Later  on  he 
became  one  of  the  chief  conductors  of  the  Times.  But 
although  he  was  one  of  the  few  men  of  his  age  who  totally 
abstained  from  intoxicants,  his  taste  for  extravagance  was 
inveterate,  and  for  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  he  was 
compelled  to  live  within  the  "  rules "  of  King's  Bench 
prison.  His  chief  literary  work  was  the  "  Tour  of  Dr.  Syntax 
in  Search  of  the  Picturesque,"  which  originally  appeared  in 
Ackermann's  Poetical  Magazine,  and  won  its  author  both 
reputation  and  profit.  Combe  also  wrote  histories  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  Oxford,  and  Cambridge,  finely  illustrated. 
The  list  of  his  works  in  the  "  Dictionary  of  Biography  " 
enumerates  eighty-six  publications,  besides  which  he  is 
known  to  have  written  over  two  hundred  biographical 
sketches,  seventy-three  sermons,  and  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  fugitive  articles.  Mr.  Combe,  whose  private  life 
seems  to  have  been  far  from  creditable  in  despite  of 
his  religious  professions,  died  at  Lambeth  on  the  19th 
June,  1823,  in  his  82nd  year,  leaving  no  legitimate  de- 
scendants. 

An  enterprising  local  shopkeeper,  dealing  in  tea,  china 
and  glass,  announced  in  a  local  paper  of  August  19th,  1776, 
that  a  stock  of  "  silk  and  other  umbrellas  "  was  also  on  sale. 
An  umbrella  was  then  a  great  novelty.  Southey's  mother, 
born  in  1762,  stated  that  when  she  was  a  child,  a  person 
displaying  one  in  Bristol  would  have  been  hooted  by  the 
populace.  (So  late  as  1778,  a  footman  who  had  brought  one 
from  Paris  was  followed  by  jeering  crowds  in  the  streets  of 


420  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1775. 

London.)    £1  14«.  was  paid  in  178B  for  an  umbrella  "  for  the 
use  of  the  Council  House." 

The  old  Assembly  Room  at  St.  Augustine's  Back,  having 
been  taken  on  lease  by  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  and 
fitted  up  at  her  expense  as  a  chapel,  was  opened  for  divine 
service  in  August.  Although  the  building  was  not  con- 
secrated, the  Common  Prayer  Book  was  adopted,  and  the 
pulpit  was  supplied  for  several  years  by  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England.  The  attendance  was  generally  large, 
and  many  distinguished  families,  during  their  visits  to  the 
Hot  Well,  were  accustomed  to  attend.  Subsequently,  a 
chapel  at  Clifton  was  thought  desirable,  and  the  building 
known  as  Hope  Chapel,  erected  at  the  joint  expense  of  Lady 
Henrietta  Hope  and  Lady  Glenorchy  (neither  of  whom  lived 
to  see  it  completed),  was  opened  on  the  31st  of  August,  1788, 
"  under  the  patronage  of  Lady  Maxwell."  The  patroness 
seems  to  have  been  a  lady  of  "  exclusive  "  ideas,  for  a  local 
journal  of  August  7th,  1790,  eulogises  "the  Rev.  Mr.  Collins, 
for  asserting  so  nobly  the  rights  of  the  public "  on  the 
previous  Sunday,  by  **  ordering  admission  for  the  multitude, 
who  are  excluded  from  that  place  of  worship,  now  devoted 
to  mercenary  purposes." 

The  Common  Council,  in  December,  granted  a  pension  of 
£20  a  year  to  the  widow  of  Henry  Casamajor,  she  being  a 
daughter  of  Anthony  Whitehead,  a  former  member  of  the 
Chamber.  A  chaplain  for  Newgate  was  appointed  at  a 
salary  of  £36  a  year.  A  subscription  of  100  guineas  was 
voted  to  the  local  movement  for  the  relief  of  the  troops 
engaged  in  America  (the  amount  raised  by  the  anti- 
American  party  for  this  purpose  was  about  £2,000)  ;  and  to 
denote  more  strongly  the  political  views  of  the  majority, 
the  freedom  of  the  city  was  conferred  upon  Lord  North, 
the  head  of  the  Government  responsible  for  driving  the 
Americans  into  revolt.  A  similar  compliment  was  paid  to 
the  Earl  of  Berkeley,  lord  lieutenant,  and  to  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort. 

The  first  Bristol  Directory  was  published  about  the  end 
of  the  year  by  James  Sketchley,  printer  and  auctioneer,  27, 
Small  Street ;  who,  it  is  said,  not  merely  collected  the  names 
of  all  the  upper  class  and  commercial  residents,  but  also 
numbered  their  dwellings  throughout  the  city,  and  placed 
the  figures  on  their  doors  for  the  consideration  of  one 
shilling  per  house.  Copies  of  his  book  are  so  rare  that  it  has 
escaped  the  attention  of  local  historians.  The  commercial 
directory  extends  over  110  pages,  and  contains  the  names  of 


1775.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  421 

about  4,400  citizens.     A  list  of  167  merchants,  filling  six 

f)ages,  is  appended  to  facilitate  reference  to  that  class.  The 
ist  of  the  Corporation  is  interesting  as  showing  the  localities 
still  in  good  repute.  Alderman  Morgan  Smith  resided  at  78, 
Lewin's  Mead,  and  had  as  next  door  neighbour  Alderman 
William  Barnes.  Alderman  Jeremiah  Ames  lived  in  Maudlin 
Street,  and  Alderman  Mugleworth  in  Orchard  Street.  Two 
others  dwelt  in  Prince's  Street,  two  in  St.  James's  Square, 
one  in  Park  Street,  one  at  Clifton,  and  two  were  non- 
resident. Of  the  Common  Council,  one  gentleman  resided 
in  the  Old  Market,  one  in  Nicholas  Street,  one  in  Back 
Lane,  St.  Philip's,  two  in  Maudlin  Street,  one  in  Dove 
Street,  six  in  Queen  Square,  four  in  College  Green,  one  at 
Clifton,  and  the  rest  in  various  localities.  Sir  Abraham 
Elton,  Bart.,  town  clerk,  lived  in  St.  James's  Barton.  Dr. 
Tucker,  Dean  of  Gloucester,  lived  in  Trenchard  Lane,  and 
other  beneficed  clergymen  in  Wilder  and  Culver  Streets. 
One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  directory  is  the  number 
— nearly  a  hundred — of  "  ship  captains  "  recorded  as  house- 
holders. The  textile  industries  common  at  the  beginning 
of  the  century  had  nearly  disappeared,  but  the  city  was 
well  supplied  with  gunsmiths  and  pewterers,  a  great  many 
tobacco-pipe  makers,  four  buckle  makers,  as  many  patten 
makers,  two  workers  in  horn,  and  scores  of  peruke  makers. 
Two  "limners"  and  a  miniature  painter  were  the  only 
representatives  of  art,  with  the  exception  of  a  china  painter. 
One  tradesman  described  himself  as  a  harpsichord  and 
spinnet  maker,  another  as  organ  builder,  and  a  third  as 
organ  builder  and  harpsichord  maker.  There  were  two  old 
book  shops  on  St.  James's  Back.  Only  one  commercial 
traveller,  described  as  a  "  rider  and  bookkeeper,"  appears  in 
the  list.  Some  men  cumulated  trades :  one  was  a  gardener 
and  schoolmaster,  another  a  breeches  and  glue  maker;  a 
music-seller  kept  an  alehouse  in  the  Pith  ay,  a  ship  captain 
relieved  the  tedium  of  life  on  shore  by  retailing  beer  and 
spirits,  and  John  Cole,  victualler  and  apothecary,  invited 
patronage  at  the  Pestle  and  Mortar,  Prince  Eugene  Street. 
The  most  old-world  tradesman  in  the  Directory  was  Thomas 
Bennett,  hour-glass  maker.  Wilder  Street.  About  twenty 
distinctively  French  names,  such  as  Daltera,  Bonbonous, 
Laroche,  and  Peloquin,  mark  the  Huguenot  element  in  the 
population.  Sketchley  included  Clifton  in  his  work,  but 
only  36  houses  were  numbered  "  on  the  hill "  (Mr.  Goldney's 
house  being  "  No.  2  "),  and  the  number  of  merchants  residing 
there  was  no  more  than  four.    In  some  notes  descriptive  of 


t22  THE   ANNALS   OF  BBISTOL  [1775-76. 

Bristol  the  anthor  states  that  a  survey  of  the  city,  Clifton^ 
and  Bedminster  had  shown  the  total  nnmber  of  houses  to 
be  6,670  (exclusive  of.  348  unoccupied),  with  a  population  of 
35,440.  Similar  surveys,  he  adds,  had  credited  Birmingham 
with  a  population  of  30,804,  and  Liverpool  with  34,407.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  the  population  of  Bristol  was 
greatly  underrated  in  this  return.  The  next  Bristol 
Directory — printed  at  Birmingham — was  published  in  1783, 
and  was  followed  by  local  works  dated  1785,  1787,  and 
1792. 

An  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  in  1776,  "  to  remove  the 
danger  of  fire  amongst  the  ships  in  the  port  of  Bristol,''  and 
for  other  purposes.  The  preamble  recited  that  owing  to  the 
large  importations  of  timber  and  other  inflammable  articles, 
the  quays  were  often  encumbered  with  such  goods,  and  the 
danger  of  fire  was  much  dreaded ;  that  the  Merchants' 
Company,  to  provide  a  remedy,  had  purchased  certain 
(Champion's)  docks  at  Clifton,  and  that  it  was  desirable  to 
enlarge  these  docks  and  erect  warehouses  for  storing  danger- 
ous materials.  The  Act  empowered  the  Company  to  carry 
out  the  works,  prohibited  timber,  tar,  etc.,  from  being  landed 
at  the  public  quays,  and  permitted  the  customary  dues  to  be 
collected  at  the  docks.  It  being  desirable  that  the  property 
should  be  under  civic  jurisdiction,  it  was  enacted  that  all 
that  part  of  Clifton  lying  to  the  south  of  Hotwell  Road 
(between  "  a  little  brook  anciently  called  Woodwell  Lake, 
but  now  a  sluice  carried  under  ground  near  a  place  where  a 
lime-kiln  stood... and  a  certain  ferry  called  Rownham  Pas- 
sage"), should  be  separated  from  the  county  of  Gloucester 
and  become  part  of  the  city  and  county  of  Bristol ;  except 
as  regarded  local  taxes  and  freeholders^  votes  at  county  elec- 
tions. 

In  consequence  of  the  complaints  made  by  the  parish- 
ioners of  St.  Nicholas  of  the  inconvenience  caused  by  the 
open  markets  on  the  Back,  the  Council,  in  April,  1776,  gave 
orders  for  the  erection  (at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £340)  of  a 
market  house  there,  *'  for  the  sale  of  poultry,  fruit,  and  other 
provisions  brought  from  Wales.^' 

On  the  29th  April,  Dr.  Johnson,  whilst  sojourning  with 
the  Tlirales  at  Bath,  paid  a  visit  to  Bristol,  accompanied  by 
his  faithful  companion  and  biographer,  for  the  purpose  of 
inquiring  into  the  authenticity  of  the  so-called  Rowley 
Manuscripts  produced  by  Chatterton,  over  which  a  fierce 
battle  was  then  raging  in  the  literary  world.  Johnson  had 
never   doubted  that   the  boy  poet  was  the  author  of  the 


1776.]  IN   THE    EIOHTEINTH   CEKTUBT.  423 

works,  and  only  marvelled  how  the  "  young  whelp  "  could 
have  written  them.  The  visitors  were  met  at  their  inn  by 
the  steadfast  Bowleian,  George  Catcott,  who  predicted  to 
Boswell  that  he  would  make  a  convert  of  the  doctor,  but 
was  doomed  to  disappointment.  "  We  called,"  adds  the 
biographer,  "  on  Mr.  Barrett,  the  surgeon,  and  saw  some  of 
the  originals,  as  they  were  called,  but... ti?«  were  quite  satis- 
fied of  the  imposture."  The  enthusiastic  Catcott,  however, 
urged  Dr.  Johnson  to  visit  St.  Mary  Redcliff,  and  inspect 
"  with  his  own  eyes  the  chest  in  which  the  manuscripts 
were  found."  In  spite  of  his  asthma,  the  lexicographer  good- 
humouredly  toiled  up  to  the  old  chamber  over  the  north 
porch ;  but  to  the  immense  mortification  of  his  guide,  he 
remained  as  sceptical  as  before.  BoswelPs  account  of  the 
Bristol  visit  is  scanty  and  incomplete.  The  explanation  is 
that  he  had  a  "tiflP"  with  Hannah  More  whilst  preparing 
his  great  work,  and  that  he  shabbily  cancelled  his  account 
of  the  visit  which  Dr.  Johnson  paid  to  the  Misses  More. 
The  visitors  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the  (unnamed)  inn 
at  which  they  stayed  ;  Johnson  jocularly  describing  it  as  so 
bad  that  Boswell  wished  himself  in  Scotland. 

The  open-air  entertainments  given  during  the  summer 
season  at  "  New  Vauxhall,"  near  the  Hot  "Well,  have  been 
already  noticed.  In  1761  the  garden  was  offered  for  sale  in 
building  sites,  and  visitors  had  thenceforth  to  content  them- 
selves with  the  in-door  amusements  offered  in  the  evening 
at  the  two  assembly  rooms  near  Dowry  Square.  At  length, 
on  the  23rd  May,  1776,  a  few  enterprising  persons  opened 
another  Vauxhall  on  an  estate  "formerly  called  the  Red 
Cliff,"  and  promised,  in  return  for  a  moderate  subscription, 
to  give  a  grand  concert  eveiy  Monday  and  Thursday  even- 
ing during  the  summer  season.  "  Admission  to  non-sub- 
scribers, one  shilling."  HandePs  "  Acis  and  Galatea  "  was 
performed  in  the  following  August,  when  there  was  "  a 
transparency  on  the  bowling  green."  The  place  was  exten- 
sively patronised  at  the  outset,  and  occasioned  the  publica- 
tion of  a  satirical  poem  entitled  "A  Trip  to  Vauxhall," 
professedly  written  oy  a  Bristolian  "  lately  returned  from 
Madeira"  to  a  friend  in  that  island.  The  author  begins  by 
lamenting  the  degeneracy  of  the  citizens.  Scarcely  a  trace 
of  the  downright  honest  trading  class,  he  says,  remains; 
Folly  has  taken  possession  of  all,  and  the  modest  shop- 
keepers that  formerly  contented  themselves  with  decent 
bol)-wigs  now  parade  about  with  tails  down  their  backs, 
like  monkeys,  while  their  wives,  starched  out  in  silk  and 


424  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1776. 

lace,  rattle  along  in  fine  coaches.  As  if  a  playhouse  in  the 
middle  of  the  city  did  not  offer  sufficient  scope  for  dissipa- 
tion, a  Vauxhall  was  opened  by  the  limpid  waters  of  the 
Avon. 

Thev  have  here  furnished  up  an  old  family  seat, 

And  built  a  8alcx>n,  in  length  seventy-five  feet. 

The  gardens  were  luckily  laid  out  before, 

So  some  lamps  stuck  about  there  now  needed  no  more. 

Six  days  out  of  seven  in  business  begun 

Is  ended  in  jollity,  feasting,  and  fun. 

On  Sundays,  he  continues,  the  vanity-stricken  throng  to 
College  Green  to  display  their  fine  dresses.  The  nights  are 
given  up  to  fine  suppers,  upon  which  tradesmen  squander 
all  their  profits.  After  this  denunciatory  exordium,  the 
author  proceeds  to  describe  his  visit  to  Vauxhall,  where  he 
beholds  a  breeches  maker  defending  his  fair  cheeks  from  the 
sun  with  a  pink  silk  umbrella,  and  another  shopkeeper, 
renowned  for  his  drinking,  mirth  and  song,  swaggering 

With  a  large  oaken  stick,  a  slouch'd  hat,  and  black  stock, 
Cropt  hair,  leather  breeches,  and  jockey-cut  frock. 

A  drunken  parson,  a  gouty  alderman  dubbed  Turtle,  and 
other  personages  receive  similar  irreverent  treatment ;  the 
illuminations  are  ridiculed  ;  and  the  voices  of  the  singers  are 
said  to  have  been  drowned  by  the  uproar  made  by  "  the 
Bucks  "  in  the  neighbouring  bowling-green.  The  satire  can 
have  had  little  effect  on  the  fortunes  of  Vauxhall.  The 
site,  however,  was  inconvenient,  as  the  garden  could  be 
reached  from  Clifton  only  by  crossing  the  Avon  (Vauxhall 
ferry  still  exists),  and  although  the  subscription  concerts 
were  continued  in  1777,  the  speculation  was  soon  after 
abandoned  as  unprofitable. 

In  the  course  of  1776  the  rector  of  Christ  Church,  whose 
fixed  income  was  only  £25  or  £30  a  year,  besought  the 
vestry  of  the  parish  to  contribute,  out  of  the  revenue  derived 
from  church  lands,  the  sum  of  £100,  which,  with  a  similar 
subscription  expected  from  the  Corporation,  would  entitle 
him  to  a  benefaction  of  £400  from  Queen  Anne's  Bounty, 
and  thus  secure  an  increased  rectorial  income  of  £30  a  year. 
The  application  having  been  refused,  the  rector  was  induced 
to  enquire  into  his  right  to  the  meagre  stipend  granted  him 
as  a  boon ;  and  as  his  claim  to  a  larger  share  of  the  estate 
seemed  conclusive,  and  the  vestry  haughtily  rejected  his 
offers  of  accommodation,  he  filed  a  bill  in  Chancery  in 
October,  1776.  The  cause  was  not  heard  until  May,  1780, 
when  judgment  was  given  in  the  rector's  favour.  Finally, 
in  June,  1782,  to  the  great  irritation  of  the  parochial  autho- 


1776.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  425 

rities,  whose  fund  for  feasting  was  much  curtailed,  the 
amount  to  be  paid  to  the  incumbent  out  of  the  church 
estate  was  fixed  at  £80  a  year,  the  court  also  awarding  him 
ten  years'  arrears.  The  suit  cost  the  vestry  £1,400  in  law 
costs. 

The  Common  Council,  in  December,  granted  a  lease  ot 
upwards  of  an  acre  of  ground,  "  part  of  Brandon  Hill,"  to 
one  Joseph  Farrell,  then  building  a  house  in  Great  George 
Street.  The  appropriation  of  this  slice  of  public  property 
excited  no  remark.  In  December,  1786,  another  lease  of 
"  part  of  Brandon  Hill "  was  granted  to  Lowbridge  Bright, 
then  living  in  Great  George  Street.  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  the  two  leases  dealt  with  the  same  plot  of  groimd. 

In  the  year  1776,  a  woman,  described  as  extremely  young, 
of  prepossessing  appearance  and  graceful  manners,  but  ob- 
viously of  disordered  intellect,  entered  a  house  at  Flax 
Bourton,  and  asked  for  a  little  milk.  After  obtaining 
refreshment,  she  wandered  about  the  fields,  and  finally  took 
shelter  under  a  haj^stack,  where  she  remained  three  or  four 
days.  Some  ladies  in  the  vicinity  having  become  ac- 
quainted with  her  condition,  she  was  supplied  with  food, 
but  neither  solicitations  nor  threats  induced  her  to  sleep  in 
a  house,  and  as  her  mental  derangement  increased  she  was 
removed  to  St.  Peter's  Hospital  in  Bristol.  How  long  she 
was  detained  there  is  unknown,  but  she  regained  her  liberty 
in  1777  or  1778,  and  immediately  returned  to  the  stackyard 
at  Bourton,  where,  strange  to  say,  she  remained  nearly  four 
years,  receiving  food  from  the  neighbouring  gentry,  but 
obstinately  refusing  the  protection  of  a  roof,  even  in  winter. 
Throughout  this  period,  "Louisa,"  or  "the  Maid  of  the 
Haystack,"  as  she  was  called,  declined  to  give  any  account 
of  her  birthplace,  parenta^ge,  or  past  life,  though  from  casual 
remarks  it  was  inferred  that  her  family  was  of  high  distinc- 
tion. A  peculiar  accent  led  observers  to  suppose  that  she 
was  a  foreigner,  but  there  is  no  trustworthy  evidence  that 
she  either  spoke  or  understood  any  language  except  English. 
In  1781,  the  condition  of  the  poor  woman  excited  the  in- 
terest of  Miss  Hannah  More,  who,  with  the  assistance  of 
friends,  had  her  removed  to  a  private  lunatic  asylum  at 
Hanham  ;  while  the  mystery  of  her  antecedents  was  sought 
to  be  cleared  up  by  the  publication  of  "A  Tale  of  Keal 
Woe "  in  a  London  newspaper.  Although  no  pains  were 
spared  to  elicit  information  by  publishing  translations  of 
this  story  in  the  chief  towns  of  France  and  Germany,  the 
results  for  some  years  were  wholly  negative.    But  in  1786 


424  THl  ANITALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1776-77. 

lace,  rattle  along  in  fine  coaches.  '  yrench  but  probably 
middle  of  the  city  did  not  offer  '  ..;.//'^^  under  the  title  of 
tion,  aVauzhall  was  opene^^  '^iccording  to  the  writer, 

Avon.  ^'•}'^^,jitioiis  piid  to  her  by  the 

Thev  have  here  ^  '  •  /^.^ona^jfes,  was  believed  to  be 

Thf iS^*  ''  ■  ^'^ill^^"^  Fnmcis  I.,  had  lived  in  a 

SoBomp*  ^  .} ''''L'tix  from  17G5  to  1709;  she  had 

Sixd'  ./y'^f/^  jiistance  of  the  Empress,  carried 


/•'-Vr "'  T-  witli  tlie  alleged 
/.:li;ii'«'-  .:M'.)ns  (Louisa,  for  exa 


half-sister  of  the  (^ueen  of 

improbabilities  surrounding 

.^^)/it'.    'Vj^'iis  (Louisa,  for  example,  could  not  have  been 

.^^/i.'*-'''""'j>](i   wh«Mi   she  was   sup{X)sed   t(^  have  sot  up  a 

fe''' .'Tl'est^^*^'^^^'^®^^  *^  "'^^^^*^*^"^^  "^^^^^  ilore  and  others 

prii^,\^^  have  firmly  believed  in  the   iKire  assertions  of  a 

;i/»pf;*'^  jibeller  of  the  house  of  Austria,  whose  work  was 

^^'laU'^  into  Pinglish.  and  went  through  three  editions. 

^^^ilie  nifantime  the  alienation  of  Louisa  degenerated  into 

j^]uyless  idiocy,  and  she  was  removed  to  a  lunatic  hou.'se  con- 

ected  with   Guy's   Hospital,  London,  where  she   died    in 

Mecember,  18(K.).     Miss  More  continued  to  the  last  to  con- 

<;ribute  towards  hor  maintenance,  and  paid  the  expense^s  of 

lier  funeral.     The   mj'stery   surrounding   the   lunatic   was 

never  cleared  up.     The   most   probable  supposition  is  that 

Louisa  was  of  gipsy  parentage,  and  had  either  escaped  or 

been  driven  from  her  tribe. 

A  villainous  scheme  for  destroying  the  shipping  in  the 
harbour  was  attempted  on  the  morning  of  the  KJth  January, 
1777.  A  v«*ssel  named  the  Savannah  La  Mar,  loading  for 
Jamaica,  had  been  daubed  during  the  night  with  pitch  and 
other  eoml)ustibl<'S,  and  had  finally  been  set  on  fire  ;  but 
assistance  lieing  speedily  at  hand,  the  fiames  were  extin- 
guished before  much  damage  was  done.  The  Fame  priva- 
teer and  the  ship  Hibernia,  lying  at  about  an  equal  distance 
above  and  below  the  Savannah,  had  been  also  visited  by  thtj 
incendiary,  but  the  fire  he  had  lighted  in  each  of  them  failed 
to  communicate  in  the  woodwork.  The  attempt  was  made 
at  low  water,  when  all  the  ships  in  port  were  aground,  so 
that  the  devastati(m  would  have,  been  immense  had  not  the 
flames  been  supj)resscd  at  the  outset.  A  few  hours  later, 
whilst  the  excitement  caused  by  the  alfair  was  at  its  height, 


I 


1777.]  IN   THl   JHOHTJCKNTH   CKNTUET.  427 

it  was  discovered  that  a  warehouse  occupied  by  Mr.  James 
Morgan,  druggist,  Corn  Street,  had  narrowly  escaped  de- 
stiniction.  The  incendiary,  after  forcing  an  entrance  into 
the  building,  had  filled  a  large  box  with  tow  moistened  with 
spirits  of  turpentine,  and  after  placing  it  against  some  casks 
of  oil,  had  applied  a  light  to  the  materials.  Through  the 
dampness  of  the  box,  however,  the  match  had  failed  in  its 
purpose.  Three  days  later  (Sunday)  a  more  successful  at- 
tempt caused  a  general  panic.  Shortly  before  daybreak  the 
warehouses  of  Messrs.  Lewsley  and  Co.,  in  Bell  Lane,  stored 
with  Spanish  wool,  grain,  etc.,  burst  into  flames,  and  in  spite 
of  vigorous  exertions  six  buildings  were  destroyed  in  two  or 
three  hours.  The  premises  had  been  fired  by  large  torches, 
one  of  which,  surrounded  with  inflammable  material,  was 
found  when  the  firemen  entered.  Similar  torches  were 
picked  up  during  the  day  in  different  parts  of  the  city  ;  and 
the  sugar  house  of  Alderman  Barnes  in  Lewin's  Mead  was 
twice  attempted  to  be  destroyed  by  them.  The  inhabitants, 
now  thoroughly  alarmed,  organised  patrols  in  each  parish,  a 
rigorous  watch  being  maintained  day  and  night.  "  The 
town,"  as  Champion  wrote  to  Burke,  "  had  the  appearance 
of  a  siege,  and  people  in  general  were  frightened  out  of  their 
senses."  It  is  lamentable  to  add  that  political  capital  was 
sought  to  be  made  out  of  the  matter  by  party  fanatics. 
Tories,  forgetting  that  some  of  the  principal  merchants  wei  e 
Americans,  and  that  an  American  was  the  chief  sufferer  by 
the  fire,  taunted  the  Whigs  with  having  instigated  the  out- 
rages ;  while  the  latter  as  foolishly  retorted  that  the  whole 
affair  was  a  factious  manoeuvre  of  the  Ministerialists.  Wal- 
pole  alleges,  moreover,  that  the  Government  was  much  less 
alarmed  by  the  fires  than  ready  to  turn  them  into  matter  of 
clamour  against  the  "  rebels."  A  reward  of  600  guineas,  to 
which  the  king  added  £1,000,  and  Mr.  Burke  £60,  was 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  incendiary,  but  for  some 
weeks  the  mystery  remained  impenetrable.  Suspicion  was 
at  length  directed  to  a  Scotchman  who  had  lodged  at  various 
houses  in  the  Pithay,  but  had  suddenly  disappeared ;  and  a 
description  of  him  having  been  circulated,  he  was  arrested 
in  Lancashire,  where  he  had  just  committed  a  burglary. 
(The  expenses  of  his  apprehension,  £128,  were  paid  by  the 
Corporation  and  the  Merchants'  Society.)  On  being  taken 
to  London,  proofs  were  obtained  (and  in  fact  he  ultimately 
confessed)  that  he  was  the  man  named  James  Aitken,  alias 
Jack  the  Painter,  who  had  set  fire  to  the  rope-house  at 
Portsmouth  dockyard  in  December,  1776.     Being  convicted 


428  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1777. 

of  that  crime  at  Hampshire  assizes,  he  was  hanged  at  Ports- 
mouth on  a  gallows  67  feet  high.  In  his  confession  Aitken 
stated  that  the  Bristol  fires  were  devised  solely  by  himself, 
and  that  he  had  made  several  other  attempts,  but  had  been 
thwarted  by  the  vigilance  of  the  patrols.  Although  only 
25  years  of  age,  he  acknowledged  having  committed  many 
burglaries,  robberies,  and  outrages.  (An  extraordinary 
popular  delusion  in  reference  to  this  criminal's  head  shows 
that  legends  can  arise  from  malefactors  as  well  as  from 
saints.  At  the  time  of  Aitken's  execution,  a  warehouse  was 
being  erected  in  Quay  Street  by  a  mason  named  Rosser, 
who,  having  purchased  part  of  the  ruins  of  Keynsham 
Abbey,  stuck  a  corbel  thus  obtained  into  the  front  of  the 
new  building.  For  some  inexplicable  reason,  manv  people 
firmly  believed  that  the  ornament  in  question  was  the  verit- 
able skull  of  Jack  the  Painter.  The  error  was  not  confined 
to  the  lower  classes.  On  the  illumination  of  the  city  on  the 
king's  recovery  in  1789,  Sarah  Farley's  Journal  recorded  as 
a  "  good  thought "  that  "  a  light  was  affixed  on  the  head  of 
John  the  Painter,''  in  Quay  Street.  The  warehouse  has 
since  been  rebuilt,  and  the  fate  of  the  corbel  is  unknown.) 

On  the  18th  January,  1777,  whilst  the  city  was  still  panic 
stricken  by  the  outrages,  the  Common  Council  resolved  to 
present  a  congratulatory  address  to  George  III.  on  the 
success  of  his  arms  in  America,  expressing  a  hope  that 
**  the  seeds  of  rebellion  would  speedily  be  eradicated."  The 
Chamber  was  nearly  equally  divided  on  the  American 
question.  Previous  attempts  to  forward  a  "  loyal  "  address 
had  been  defeated  by  the  inability  of  its  promoters  to  ob- 
tain a  quorum.  On  this  occasion,  according  to  a  letter  of 
Champion  to  Burke,  two  weak-kneed  Whigs  went  over  to 
the  Ministerialists,  and  the  address  was  voted  by  a  House 
of  22  members,  20  being  absent.  The  majority,  which 
succeeded  afler  a  warm  debate  in  carrying  a  similar  address 
in  Merchants'  Hall,  did  not  content  itself  with  paper  sym- 
pathy. The  Council  offered  bounties  to  sailors  volunteering 
into  the  Navy,  and  although  the  Corporation  was  embar- 
rassed by  a  heavy  and  increasing  debt,  £692  were  thus  dis- 
tributed in  less  than  a  year.  In  August,  moreover,  the 
freedom  of  the  city  was  conferred  on  the  Earls  of  Suffolk 
and  Sandwich,  two  Ministers  notorious  for  their  rancorous 
hostility  towards  the  colonists.  This  compliment  was  voted 
just  after  the  Newfoundland  trade  had  oeen  lost  to  local 
merchants,  and  several  ships  had  been  captured  in  the 
English  Channel  by  American  privateers.     Burke,  in  a 


1777.]  IN   THJB   EIGHTBBNTH   CENTURY.  429 

letter  to  Champion,  wrote : — "  To  choose  the  very  moment 
of  our  scandalous  situation  as  a  season  of  compliment  to 
Ministers  seems  to  me  the  most  surprising  instance  of 
insanity  that  ever  was  shewn  out  of  the  college  [madhouse] 
of  Moorfields." 

The  Bristol  newspapers  were  much  too  timid  to  criticise, 
or  even  to  record,  the  amusements  of  the  fashionable  com- 
pany that  assembled  every  summer  at  the  Hot  "Well,  but 
contented  themselves  with  publishing  a  list  of  the  aristo- 
cratic arrivals.  In  May,  1777,  however,  Felix  Farletfs 
Journal^  prompted  by  some  sarcastic  visitor,  startled  its 
readers  by  publishing  "  Bon  Ton  Intelligence "  from  the 
healing  fountain.  One  paragraph  says : — "  We  are  informed 
from  the  Hotwells  that  it  is  there  the  prevailing  ton  for 
gentlemen  to  go  and  drink  the  waters  at  the  Pump-room 
with  their  nightcaps  on  ;  and  that  this  innovation  of  the 
head-dress  somewhat  alarms  the  ladies.''  A  fortnight  later, 
under  the  same  heading,  appeared  the  following : — **  We  are 
informed  that  no  considerable  alteration  in  dress  has  taken 
place  since  the  Revolution  of  the  Nightcap,  except  the 
seemingly  extravagant  appendage  of  an  extraordinary 
watch ;  as  the  gentlemen  of  the  true  ton  wear  one  in  each 
fob.'*  (The  wearing  of  two  watches  by  young  men  of 
fashion  was  often  noticed  by  contemporary  caricaturists.) 
Another  paragraph  refers  to  some  passing  lolly  of  the  fair 
sex : — "  The  season  at  the  Hotwells  is  now  truly  brilliant,  but 
no  considerable  alteration  in  polite  amusements  has  taken 
place,  except  that  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  have  formed  a 
resolution  of  going  to  the  balls  undressed.''  This  was  the 
last  quip  of  the  Journal's  "  polite  "  contributor  prior  to  his 
departure,  and  unfortunately  he  never  reappeared. 

Statistics  showing  the  precise  effects  of  the  American  war 
on  local  commerce  are  unfortunately  unobtainable.  That 
the  decline  in  the  shipping  trade  was  very  great  is,  however, 
beyond  question.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  on  the  16th 
August,  a  resolution  was  passed  to  the  effect  that,  as  the 
amount  of  the  mayor's  dues  (40.?.  per  vessel  above  60  tons) 
had  considerably  fallen  off  during  the  previous  year,  as  the 
expense  of  discharging  the  office  of  cnief  magistrate  was 
considerable,  and  as  the  dignity  of  the  Corporation  was  con- 
cerned in  that  office  being  duly  supported,  it  was  desirable 
that  the  mayor's  income  should  not  fall  below  £1,000.  The 
chamberlain  was  accordingly  ordered  to  pay  Mr.  Farr 
(mayor  in  177B-6)  such  a  sum  as  would  raise  his  receipts 
from  dues  and  fees  to  that  amount.     As  the  product  of  the 


430  THE   ANNALS  OP  BRISTOL  [1777. 

dues  was  expected  to  fall  off  still  more  seriously  in  the 
current  civic  year,  a  similar  order  was  made  in  favour  of 
Mr.  Pope,  and  also  of  future  mayors.  By  another  resolution, 
Messrs.  Edward  Brice  and  John  Noble  were  ordered  to  be 
paid  such  sum,  not  exceeding  £1,0CX),  as  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  should  consider  proper,  for  having  served  as 
sheriffs  a  second  time  in  1776-6 ;  and  the  allowance  of  each 
future  sheriff  was  fixed  at  £420. 

A  carrier  named  Somerton  surprised  the  city  in  October 
by  announcing  that  his  "  flying  wagons,"  carrying  passen- 
gers and  goods  to  London  three  times  a  week,  would  thence- 
forth accomplish  the  journey  in  forty-eight  hours.  Large 
bets  were  laid  that  the  conditions  would  not  be  fulfilled,  and 
there  was  much  astonishment  when  Somerton  carried  out 
his  pledge. 

On  the  30th  October,  during  a  gale,  a  windmill  for  grind- 
ing snuff  on  Clifton  Down  (on  the  site  of  the  present  Obser- 
vatory) took  fire,  owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which  it  was 
set  in  motion  by  the  storm,  and  the  building  was  gutted. 
No  attempt  was  made  to  reconstruct  the  mill,  which  had 
been  in  existence  only  a  few  years. 

Owing  to  the  severe  distress  which  prevailed  amongst  the 
poor  at  this  time,  highway  robberies  were  extremely  fre- 
quent. One  evening  during  the  autumn,  the  Birmingham 
coach  was  stopped  within  a  hundred  yards  of  Stoke's  Croft 
by  two  footpads  armed  with  blunderbusses,  who  robbed  the 
passengers  of  about  £5.  The  carriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Trevelyan  was  attacked  in  Park  Street,  probably  by  the 
same  thieves,  and  the  inmates  were  stripped  of  their  money 
and  a  gold  watch.  Highwaymen  swarmed  on  all  the  great 
roads.  A  man  eventually  identified  as  John  Caldwell,  who 
kept  the  Ship  tavern  in  Milk  Street,  and  a  companion 
robber  named  Edward  Boulter,  were  so  successful  in  their 
daring  raids  as  to  become  for  a  time  the  terror  of  the 
western  counties.  Boulter  had  been  previously  sentenced 
to  death  for  robbery,  but  pardoned  on  condition  of  entering 
the  army.  He  soon  deserted  from  his  regiment,  and  con- 
cealed himself  in  the  cellar  of  CaldwelPs  house,  from  whence 
he  and  his  host,  after  having  stolen  two  valuable  horses  near 
the  city,  sallied  at  intervals  to  prey  upon  travellers.  Several 
marauding  excursions,  extending  from  Cheshire  to  Dorset- 
shire, were  successful,  and  the  plunder  thus  acquired  was 
concealed  in  a  deep  hole  made  in  Caldwell's  cellar.  Early 
in  1778  they  were  arrested  in  Birmingham,  whilst  trying  to 
convert   some  of  their  spoil  into  cash,  and  were  sent   to 


1777-78.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  431 

London  for  identification.  Boulter,  however,  escaped  from 
Clerkenwell  prison,  and  had  the  audacity  to  return  to 
Bristol,  where  he  was  soon  after  recaptured.  At  the  sum- 
mer assizes  at  Winchester,  the  two  men  were  convicted  of  a 
robbery  in  Hampshire,  for  which  they  were  executed  at 
Winchester.  Owing  to  confessions  made  by  them  before 
death,  the  police  authorities  in  Bristol  made  a  descent  upon 
the  Milk  Street  tavern,  still  occupied  by  Caldwell's  wife. 
The  hiding  place  must  have  been  difficult  to  find,  for  the 
"  sundry  expenses  "  of  the  search,  paid  by  the  Corporation, 
amounted  to  £4.  At  length  the  hoard  was  brought  to  light, 
and  several  persons  recovered  their  stolen  watches  and 
jewellery. 

The  dean  and  chapter,  in  December,  1777,  granted  leave 
to  the  Corporation  "  to  erect  a  portico  at  the  front  door  of 
the  Mayor's  Chapel,"  on  payment  of  an  acknowledgment  of 
2s,  6d,  annually.  A  sham  Gothic  structure  was  accordingly 
erected  by  order  of  the  Corporation  in  1778,  at  a  cost  of 
£92  lOs,  6d.     The  abortion  was  removed  in  1888. 

The  respect  of  the  capitular  body  for  pluralism  on  the 
part  of  their  servants  is  exemplified  in  a  minute  which 
follows  the  foregoing.  It  being  reported  that  one  of  the 
singing  men  was  parish  clerk  of  St.  Stephen's,  whilst 
another  held  the  same  office  in  All  Saints',  the  chapter 
ordered  that  one  shilling  weekly  should  be  allowed  to  each 
of  them,  "  to  get  a  clerk  to  officiate  for  them  every  Simday 
morning." 

On  the  19th  January,  1778,  a  meeting  of  citizens  approv- 
ing of  the  Ministerial  policy  towards  America  was  held  in 
the  Guildhall,  the  mayor  (John  Durbin)  presiding,  when  a 
subscription  was  started  '*  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the 
Government."  Thirty-nine  gentlemen  subscribed  £200  each, 
and  the  fund  eventually  amounted  to  upwards  of  £21,000.  A 
meeting  of  the  opposite  party  had  been  held  a  few  days 
previously,  Mr.  Joseph  Harford  in  the  chair,  to  raise  money 
for  the  relief  of  the  numerous  distressed  Americans  detained 
as  prisoners  of  war ;  but  the  total  sum  subscribed  amounted 
to  under  £363.  The  mayor's  zeal  on  behalf  of  the  king's 
coercive  policy  was  promptly  recognised,  the  honour  of 
knighthood  being  conferred  upon  him  before  the  end  of  the 
month.  Burke,  writing  to  Champion  in  April,  asserted  that 
the  local  subscription  in  support  of  the  war  had  "  made 
America  abhor  the  name  of  Bristol."  The  promoters,  after 
all  their  professions,  were  by  no  means  so  zealous  as  they 
wished  the  country  to  believe.     According  to  an  account 


4:32  THE   AKNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1778. 

published  by  their  committee  in  May,  1779,  only  £4,668  of 
the  fund  had  been  expended  (in  obtaining  1,146  recruits  for 
the  army\  and  £768  were  said  to  remain  on  hand.  The 
residue  of  the  subscription,  £16,500,  was  not  accounted  for, 
and  was  in  fact  never  paid  up. 

A  cock-fight  on  the  largest  scale  took  place  at  the  Ostrich 
inn,  Durdham  Down,  in  February,  1778,  and  was  attended 
by  great  numbers  of  West  country  squires,  the  match  hav- 
ing been  arranged  between  the  gentry  of  Somerset  and 
Devon.  Fifty-one  birds  contended  on  each  side,  for  prizes 
amounting  to  about  350  guineas. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  March,  the  fireedom  of  the 
city  was  ordered  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Earl  of  Sussex,  "  he 
being  entitled  to  the  Siime  by  having  married  the  daughter 
of  a  free  burgess."  The  Bristol  lady  thus  referred  to  was 
Mary,  daughter  of  John  Vaughan,  goldsmith  and  banker. 
Ladv  Sussex  died  childless. 

Tlie  mode  in  which  ecclesiastical  patronage  was  adminis- 
tered is  illustrated  by  another  minute  made  at  the  above 
meeting.  The  Bishop  of  Bristol  had  just  conferred  the 
vioaragt*  of  Almondsbury  and  also  the  rectory  of  Fil ton  upon 
the  Kev.  John  Davie,  vicar  of  St.  John's,  and  the  recipient 
jxHitioned  the  CorjX)ration  to  be  ]>ermitted  to  retain  his  city 
lucumlnniov,  to  which  the  Chamber  at  once  consented.  Mr. 
Davie,  lunvevtT,  resigned  it  in  the  following  year,  on  being 
pn^seutoil  to  llenbury. 

Early  in  April,  Earl  Nugent,  the  rejected  representative 
of  Brist<»l,  giive  iiotiot*  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  behalf 
of  the  Govornmont  of  a  motion  for  considering  the  laws 
regulating  the  trade  and  commerce  of  Ireland.  His  views 
as  to  the  im{K>liov  of  existing  restrictions  were  immediately 
applauded  by  Mr.  Burke.  A  few  days  later.  Lord  Nugent 
brv>ught  forwani  resolutions  dealing  with  the  subject,  his  chief 
pn^jH^sals  Unng  that  all  goods  prvxlueed  in  Ireland  (woollens 
t^xcojxed^  should  be  allowevl  to  be  exjx"»ned  to  the  colonies, 
and  that  a^lonial  products  .indigo  and  tobacco  excepted) 
should  be  jH^mitted  to  enter  Ireland  direct.  ^Under  regu- 
lations thou  in  foive  Irish  imjx-^rts  and  exports  had  to 
be  tirst  landed  in  England.'  Permission  to  export  Irish 
glass  to  fortMgn  aMintries.  and  to  import  Irish  cotton 
yarn  into  England  wert^  minor  features  of  the  scheme,  to 
which  Burke  ailded  a  projx^sal  that  Irish  sailcloth  and 
cordage  should  K^  j^rmitteil  to  enter  England.  Although 
the  resolutions  won»  received  with  approval  on  both  sides  of 
the  House,  thoy  excited  a  tempest  of  indignation  amongst 


1778.]  IK   THJ    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  433 

merchants  and  traders,  and  nowhere  did  the  storm  blow 
more  fiercely  than  in  Bristol,  where  the  panic  was  as  great 
as  during  the  outrages  of  Jack  the  Painter.  Lord  Nugent's 
action  in  the  matter  was  ascribed  to  a  diabolical  spite 
against  the  city  on  account  of  his  rejection  in  1774,  whilst 
Burke  was  charged  with  a  design  to  promote  the  interests 
of  his  native  country  by  injuring  those  of  England.  The 
Corporation,  the  Society  of  Merchants,  and  the  trading  classes 
hastened  to  forward  petitions  to  Parliament  declaring  that 
the  proposed  concessions  to  the  Irish  would  have  ruinous 
consequences  to  local  commerce.  The  Common  Council 
deputed  two  of  its  members  to  organise  opposition  against 
the  scheme  in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons.  No 
feature  of  the  resolutions  excited  more  passionate  predictions 
of  injury  than  did  Burke's  proposal  to  admit  Irish  sailcloth 
and  ropes  into  England,  although,  as  it  was  afterwards 
discovered,  the  prohibition  of  these  imports  had  been 
abolished  many  years  before.  Every  leading  merchant  who 
had  supjx)rted  Burke,  with  the  exception  of  Richard 
Champion,  seems  to  have  been  oflfended  by  his  conduct,  and 
some  electors  sent  him  positive  orders  to  vote  against  the 
scheme  in  its  future  stages,  whatever  might  be  his  private 
opinions.  His  replies  to  the  Merchants' .  Company  and  to 
some  personal  friends  may  be  found  in  his  correspondence. 
In  spite  of  the  clamour,  he  was  more  energetic  in  support  of 
the  measure  than  were  the  Ministers  themselves.  Indeed  Lord 
North,  quailing  before  the  wrath  of  the  Tory  boroughs, 
gradually  withdrew  all  the  important  provisions,  until  little 
was  left  of  the  original  scheme  save  the  clauses  favouring 
Irish  linens.  In  the  spring  of  1779,  a  Bill  introduced  to 
allow  Ireland  to  import  her  own  sugars  excited  renewed 
irritation  in  Bristol,  whence  a  deputation  was  again  sent  by 
the  Common  Council,  and  Lord  North  delighted  local 
merchants  by  procuring  the  rejection  of  the  measure.  In  a 
few  months,  however,  the  scene  changed.  The  islands  of 
St.  Vincent  and  Grenada  were  captured  by  the  French, 
whose  navy  held  the  mastery  of  the  English  Channel ; 
Americanprivateers  threatened  Hull  and  Edinburgh  ;  whilst 
the  Irish,  invited  to  prepare  for  defence  against  invasion, 
had  raised  an  army  of  volunteers,  and  threatened  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  Americans  unless  their  grievances  were 
redressed.  Covered  with  humiliation.  Lord  North,  on  the 
13th  December,  oflfered  to  concede  to  Ireland  full  liberty  to 
trade  with  all  the  colonies,  to  remove  the  restrictions  on  her 
glass  trade,  and,  hardest  sacrifice  of  all,  to  permit  the  export 

r  r 


434  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1778. 

of  her  woollen  manufactures.  A  Bill  giving  effect  to  this 
capitulation  passed  rapidly  through  Parliament,  the  opposi- 
tion of  Bristol  and  other  ports  becoming  lukewarm  when 
the  measure  was  urged  forwai'd  by  the  *'  king's  friends." 
Burke's  advocacy  of  free  trade  was  not,  however,  forgotten 
by  his  constituents,  and  his  dismissal  at  the  next  election 
was  already  practically  certain. 

A  writ  of  inquiry  was  opened  at  Gloucester  on  the  9th 
April,  1778,  to  assess  damages  in  an  action  brought  by  David 
Lewis,  a  Bristol  merchant,  against  the  mayor  and  Corpora- 
tion. It  appeared  that  the  water  bailiff  had  demanded 
illegal  fees  of  the  plaintiff,  and  that,  on  his  refusal  to  pay 
them,  his  goods  had  been  seized  and  sold  by  order  of  the 
Corporation.  A  verdict,  with  £50  damages  and  costs,  was 
given  for  the  complainant.  About  eighteen  months  later  an 
action  was  tried  at  Gloucester  assizes,  Lewis  being  again  the 
plaintiff,  whilst  the  defendants  were  Sir  John  Durbin  and 
other  commissioners  of  the  Court  of  Conscience.  The  ground 
of  the  action  was  the  assault  and  imprisonment  of  Lewis 
after  an  illegal  judgment  delivered  against  him.  For  some 
inscrutable  reason,  the  Corporation  paid  the  damages  and 
costs  (£116)  in  this  case  also. 

A  frigate  of  32  guns,  the  Medea,  was  launched  from  Hil- 
house's  dock  on  the  28th  April.  Ship-building  for  the  navy 
had  been  so  long  suspended  in  Bristol  that  the  Journal  very 
erroneously  asserted  that  this  was  **  the  first  king's  frigate 
ever  built  in  this  port."  Four  other  frigates  were  then 
building  in  local  yards. 

After  a  slumber  of  forty  years  the  question  of  establishing 
a  Mansion-house  was  revived  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on 
the  13th  June.  It  was  unanimously  resolved  that  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  Chamber  should  be  appointed  to  consider 
"of  the  taking  some  convenient  house  to  be  constantly 
occupied  and  used  as  a  Mayoralty  House."  On  the  22nd 
August  the  committee  advised  that  a  mansion  should  be 
provided  forthwith,  and  suggested  that  the  house  of  Sir 
Abraham  Isaac  Elton,  in  St.  James's  Barton,  together  with 
the  adjoining  dwelling,  would  be  most  eligible  for  the  pur- 
pose. Sir  A.  Elton  had  made  an  offer  of  his  house  for 
£1,5C0,  and  the  committee  recommended  its  acceptance,  pro- 
vided he  would  sell  the  other  house  for  £500.  The  report 
was  confirmed.  For  some  unexplained  reason,  however,  the 
Chamber  abandoned  its  intentiou,  and  in  December  it  voted 
£300  to  Sir  A.  Elton,  as  compensation  for  breaking  the 
agreement  with  him. 


1778.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENl'UBY.  4^35 

Mary  Ann  Peloquin,  sister  of  David  Peloquin  (maj'or 
1751),  and  last  survivor  of  one  of  the  Huguenot  families  that 
took  refuge  in  Bristol  in  the  previous  century,  died  on  the 
23r(l  July,  1778.  By  her  will,  the  sum  of  £19,000,  lent  by 
her  some  years  before  to  the  Corporation,  was  devised  to  that 
body,  in  trust  to  pay  the  interest,  at  3  per  cent.,  in  yearly 
doles  to  156  poor  men  and  women — chiefly  to  decayed  free- 
men or  their  widows,  not  paupers,  or  keeping  alehouses. 
The  testatrix  left  to  the  rector  of  St.  Stephen's  for  the 
time  being  the  sum  of  £5  per  annum,  and  her  residence  in 
Quoou  Square,  to  be  used  as  a  parsonage.  Dr.  Tucker,  dean 
of  Gloucester,  then  incumbent  of  St.  Stephen's,  forthwith 
removed  from  his  house  in  Trenchard  Street.  Neither  the 
rector  nor  the  Corporation  felt  so  much  gratitude  to  the 
benefactress  as  to  inscribe  even  her  name  upon  the  Peloquin 
monument  in  her  parish  church.  (The  omission  was  re- 
paired by  the  churchwardens  of  St.  Stephen's  in  1892.) 

Owing  to  commercial  disasters  caused  by  the  quarrel  with 
America,  the  picturesque  estate  of  Blaize  Castle  came  into 
the  market  in  August,  1778.  The  property,  about  110  acres 
in  extent,  had  been  purchased  about  sixteen  years  previously 
from  Sir  Jarrit  Smith  by  Mr.  Thomas  Farr,  merchant  (mayor 
1776-G),  one  of  Burke's  most  zealous  supporters.  Mr.  Farr 
spent  several  thousand  pounds  in  laying  out  drives  and 
walks,  aftbrding  access  to  striking  points  of  view,  and  in 
erecting  a  castellated  building  on  an  eminence  commanding 
the  Bristol  Channel.  The  estate  also  comprised  a  windmill 
(the  ruins  of  which  still  exist)  held  of  the  tinistees  of  Hen- 
bury  School,  subject  to  the  yearly  payment  **  of  £4,  two 
turkeys,  and  a  chine."  The  property  was  purchased  by  a 
gentleman  named  Skeate,  who  disposed  of  it  a  few  years 
afterwards  to  Mr.  John  Scandrett  Harford,  by  whom  the 
mansion  was  rebuilt. 

Mr.  John  Bull  was  elected  mayor  on  the  15th  September, 
but  declined  the  office  owing  to  illness,  and  the  fine  for  refusal 
was  remitted.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  time  that  a 
person  elected  mayor  of  Bristol  repudiated  the  honour.  Mr. 
BulFs  action  was  anticipated,  for  the  recorder's  opinion  had 
been  previously  taken  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued,  several  of 
the  gentlemen  who  stood  below  Mr.  Bull  on  the  roll  having 
positively  declined  to  act  until  a  Mansion-house  was  pro- 
vided. It  was  pointed  out  that  the  charter  of  Anne  required 
that  a  new  mayor  should  besworn-in  by  his  predecessor,  but 
supposing,  as  was  probable,  that  the  existing  mayor  could 
be  induced  to  serve  again,  he  obviouslj'  could  not  swear-in 


436 


THE    ANNALS    OF  BRISTOL 


[1778. 


himself.  The  recorder  eluded  the  difficulty  by  advising  that, 
if  Mr.  Bull  refused  to  serve,  the  Council  should  not  proceed 
to  a  new  election,  but  allow  Sir  John  Durbin  to  continue  in 
the  performance  of  his  functions.  This  course  was  adopted, 
Sir  John  retaining  office  for  another  twelvemonth. 

The  Bristol  Journal  of  September  26th,  1778,  contains  the 
following  list  of  privateers  belonging  to  the  port.  The 
number  of  those  vessels  had  largely  increased  during  the 
year,  in  consequence  of  the  alliance  concluded  by  France 
with  the  Americans.  The  contrast  presented  by  the  list 
with  the  roll  of  1766  (see  p.  320)  is  highly  significant. 


Gunn. 

Men. 

GnnA. 

Men. 

Lyon 

32 

180 

Jackall 

14 

50 

Vigilant 

30 

180 

Hero 

12 

70 

Lord  Cardiff 

20 

150 

True  Briton 

10 

50 

Old  England 

20 

120 

LETTERS 

OP   MARQUE. 

Cato 

18 

120 

Hercules    ... 

30 

150 

Rover     ... 

18 

100 

Levant 

28 

150 

Ranger  ... 

18 

100 

aaville 

20 

80 

Revenge 

18 

100 

Chambers  ... 

20 

80 

Tartar 

16 

120 

Britannia  ... 

18 

60 

Alexander 

16 

1-20 

Ann 

18 

100 

V^aliant 

16 

50 

Albion 

16 

70 

With  but  two  or  three  exceptions,  the  owners  of  the 
above  vessels  sustained  disastrous  losses.  Only  one  important 
prize,  in  fact,  was  captured — a  richly  laden  French  East 
Indiaman,  brought  into  Kingroad  in  September,  1778,  by 
the  Tartar  and  Alexander,  and  which,  acccording  to  the 
Bristol  Journal,  had  been  insured  by  London  underwritei-s 
for  £100,000. — Great  difficulty  being  encountered  in  rein- 
forcing the  troops  in  America,  an  Act  was  passed  in  1779, 
by  which  able-bodied  men  who  could  not  prove  themselves 
to  be  exercising  a  lawful  industry  were  liable  to  be  impressed, 
and  compelled  to  serve  in  the  army  for  five  years.  The 
Government  offered  a  bounty  of  three  guineas  a  man  for 
volunteers,  to  which  the  Corporation  added  a  guinea  to  men 
joining  in  Bristol. 

A  minute  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Common  Council  on 
the  9th  December  affords  testimony  as  to  the  family  rela- 
tions which  existed  between  many  members  of  the  Chamber. 
A  pension  of  £40  a  year  was  voted  to  Rachel  Hilhouse, 
widow  of  the  late  swordbearer,  and  grand- daughter  of 
Alderman  Barnes,  deceased,  **  and  being  otherwise  related 
to  several  other  late  as  well  as  present  members  of  this  cor- 
poration." This  remark  appears  to  have  been  objected  to  as 
more  true  than  felicitous,  and  the  phrase  was  struck  through 
with  a  pen.  In  August,  1780,  a  daughter  of  Alderman  Barnes 
was  also  voted  a  pension  of  £40  a  year. 


1778-79.]       IN  THB  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  437 

The  Bristol  Gazette  of  December  24tli  reix)rted  that  a 
journeyman  shoemaker  had  just  been  publicly  whipped  in 
the  market,  having  been  convicted  of  substituting  interior 
leather  for  that  given  out  to  him  by  his  employer. 

In  1778,  William  Fry,  a  distiller  in  Redcliff  Street,  and 
several  years  churchwarden  of  the  parish,  erected  an  Alms- 
house, which  he  styled  "  The  Mercy  House,'*  on  Colston's 
Parade,  for  the  reception  of  eight  aged  widows  or  spinsters. 
He  subsequently  endowed  the  institution  with  a  yearly  sum 
of  about  £60. 

In  February,  1779,  during  one  of  his  visits  to  the  city, 
John  Howard  inspected  the  French  prisoners  of  war,  de- 
tained in  "a  place  which  had  been  a  pottery"  (probably  at 
Kiiowle).  He  found  the  arrangements  better  than  those  at 
Plymouth,  the  men,  161  in  number,  being  at  work.  In 
March,  1782,  Howard  noted  that  a  new  prison  had  been 
built  (at  Fishponds).  There  was  no  chimney  in  the  wards, 
which  were  very  dirty,  being  never  washed.  The  inmates 
consisted  of  774  Spaniards  and  13  Dutchmen.  "  Here  was 
painted  on  a  board  that  an  open  market  is  allowed  from  10 
to  3.'' 

An  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  in  1779  authorising  the 
enclosure  of  that  part  of  Kingswood  situated  within  the 
parisli  of  Stapleton — in  other  w^ords  the  modern  parish  of 
Fishponds.  The  locality  of  the  New  Pools,  as  it  was  called 
in  the  Kingswood  map  of  1610,  was  inhabited  chiefly  by 
colliers  and  quarrymen,  living  in  C3ttage8  built  by  them- 
selves. The  landowners,  with  a  liberality  unusual  at  the 
time,  allotted  half  an  acre  of  land  to  each  of  these  squatters, 
who  were  thus  encouraged  to  convert  their  mud  huts  into 
comfortable  stone  dwellings. 

For  many  years  after  steam-engines  had  come  into  exten- 
sive use  for  mining  purposes,  their  manufacturers  were 
unable  to  devise  any  method  of  producing  a  circular  motion 
in  machinery  except  by  pumping  water  on  the  floats  of  a 
water-wheel.  On  the  10th  March,  1779,  however,  a  patent 
was  granted  to  Matthew  Wasbrough,  brass-founder.  Narrow 
Wine  Street  (the  place  of  his  birth),  for  converting  a  re- 
ciprocal into  a  rotary  motion  by  a  combination  of  pulleys 
and  wheels,  one  of  the  objects  being  to  adopt  the  principle 
''  for  moving  in  a  direct  position  any  ship  or  vessel."  The 
inventor  had  not  brought  his  design  into  practical  operation 
when,  in  August,  1780,  another  patent  was  obtained  by  one 
Pickard,  who  proposed  to  attain  the  same  end  by  means  of 
a  crank ;   and   Wasbrough,  by   an  arrangement  with  the 


/ 


438  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1779. 

inventor,  adopted  the  improvement.  The  famous  engineer, 
James  Watt,  who  disliked  his  Bristol  rival  in  trade,  vehe- 
mently asserted  at  the  time  that  Pickard  had  stolen  an  idea 
which  he  was  himself  about  to  carry  into  execution  ;  but  at 
a  later  period  he  admitted  that  the  real  inventor  of  the 
crank  was  the  man  who,  in  the  infancy  of  civilisation,  con- 
trived the  potter's  wheel.  The  engines  made  down  to  this 
period  had  served  only  for  pumping.  By  Pickard 's  in- 
genuity the  steam-engine  became  capable  of  employment  in 
a  hundred  other  directions.  In  1781  Wasbrough  received 
an  order  from  the  Government  to  erect  one  of  his  engines 
for  grinding  flour  at  Deptford.  Subsequently,  however,  the 
Navy  Board  asked  the  celebrated  Smeaton  for  his  advice  as 
to  the  best  engine  for  a  flour  mill,  and  upon  his  reporting 
that  no  rotary  motion  could  ever  produce  such  excellent 
results  as  those  derived  "  from  the  regular  efflux  of  water 
in  turning  a  water  wheel,''  the  order  to  Wasbrough  was 
countermanded.  The  distress  caused  by  this  disappoint- 
ment, aggravated  by  bodily  indisposition,  and  anxiety 
arising  from  pecuniary  losses,  threw  the  unfortunate  me- 
chanician into  a  fever,  of  which  he  died  on  the  21st  October 
in  the  same  year,  aged  28.  Previous  to  this  unhappy  ter- 
mination of  what  had  promised  to  be  a  brilliant  career, 
Wasbrough  had  used  one  of  the  new  engines  for  the  purpos3 
of  driving  the  lathes  in  his  manufactory ;  a  second  was  sot 
up  in  Birmingham,  to  the  intense  irritation  of  Watt ;  and  a 
third  Wiis  made  for  the  flour  mill  of  Messrs  Young  and  Co., 
in  Lewin's  Mead.  In  all  of  these  he  had  introduced  a  ''  fly- 
wheel," in  conformity  with  the  specification  of  his  pitent  of 
1779.  And  although  this  important  feature  of  an  engine 
had  been  previously  suggested  by  other  projectors,  Was- 
brough is  undoubtedly  entitled  to  the  merit  of  having  been 
the  first  to  bring  it  into  practical  use. 

As  two  aldermen  were  noted  in  Sketchley's  Directory  as 
inhabiting  Lewin's  Mead  in  1775,  the  fact  that  a  high  class 
boarding  school  for  boys  and  girls  was  established  in  that 
thoroughfare  can  cause  little  surprise.  The  proprietor,  a 
Quaker  named  Charles  Sawyer,  announced  the  reopening  of 
the  school  after  the  (Easter)  recess  in  Sarah  Farley  s  Journal 
of  April  3rd,  1779.  The  fee  for  boarders— who  were  taught 
the  classical  tongues,  Hebrew,  Spanish,  French,  and  Italian 
— was  14  guineas  per  annum.  Day  boys  and  girls  were 
instructed  in  the  ordinary  elements,  with  Latin  or  French, 
for  10^.  a  quarter,  and  they  might  have  three  months' 
dinners  for  25«.   a  head.     A  superior  school  for   "young 


1779.]  IN  THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  439 

gentlemen "    was    established    about    this    date    in    Back 
Street. 

A  vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  lesseeship  of  the 
theatre,  a  proposal  was  made  to  the  proprietors  by  Mr.  John 
Palmer,  the  manager  of  the  Bath  house,  who  will  soon  pre- 
sent himself  as  the  great  reformer  of  the  postal  system  of 
his  time.  Palmer  having  undertaken  to  make  important 
alterations  in  the  building,  the  proprietors,  in  April,  granted 
him  a  lease  for  twenty  years,  at  £200  per  annum,  and  gave 
up  the  first  three  years'  rent  as  a  contribution  towards  his 
intended  outlay.  *^  The  future  plan,"  says  Felix  Farley^n 
Journal^  **  is  to  play  once  a  week  in  the  winter,  three  times 
a  week  part  of  the  summer,  and  to  have  oratorios  in  Lent." 
The  chief  feature  of  the  alterations  was  the  erection  over  the 
centre  of  the  dress  circle  of  a  second  tier  of  boxes.  The 
theatre  was  reopened  in  October,  1779,  but  Palmer's  name 
(loes  not  re-appear,  as  he  had  confided  the  property  to  Messrs. 
Dimond  and  Keasberry,  who  held  the  management  for 
several  years.  Six  oratorios  were  produced  during  Lent, 
1780,  a  guinea  being  charged  for  admission  to  the  series. 
Two  oratorios  were  also  given  in  1781  and  1782.  From  1779 
to  1781  Mrs.  Siddons  and  her  husband  were  members  of  the 
theatrical  company  throughout  each  season,  and  the  gifted 
actress  on  one  occasion  performed  the  part  of  "Hamlet" 
with  great  success.  Her  salary  is  said  to  have  been  £3  a 
week. 

The  dearth  of  entertainments  during  the  summer  encour- 
ao;ed  a  roving  company  to  open  the  old  **  hut  at  Jacob's 
Wells "  for  a  short  season.  Dreading  the  law  against 
*'  rogues  and  vagabonds,"  the  conductors  offered  the  tradi- 
tional "  concert "  for  the  price  of  admission,  adding  a 
**  Pantomime,"  rope-dancing,  etc.,  gratis.  Bristol  panto- 
mimes up  to  this  date  had  always  been  given  during  the 
summer,  a^d  some  of  them  were  received  with  favour  for 
three  and  even  four  successive  years.  The  above  perfor- 
mances closed  the  history  of  the  Jacob's  Wells  house. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Merchants'  Society,  June  26th,  1779, 
an  address  to  the  King  was  adopted,  offering  "  the  utmost 
assistance  and  support"  to  his  Government  in  its  policy 
towards  America,  and  a  subscription  of  £1,000  was  voted  to 
encourage  enlistments  in  the  forces.  An  amendment,  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Joseph  Harford  and  Mr.  Richard  Bright, 
E raying  the  king  for  a  change  of  Ministry,  was  negatived 
y  a  majority  of  three.  The  Common  Council  was  convened 
on  the  same  day,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  adopt  similar 


440  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1779. 

resolutions,  but  a  sympathetic  quorum  could  not  be  obtained. 
At  another  gathering,  a  week  later,  when  much  dread  pre- 
vailed of  an  invasion  by  the  French,  then  masters  of  the 
Channel,  Mr.  G.  Daubeny  moved  that  the  Chamber  should 
subscribe  £2,000  for  the  purpose  of  raising  soldiers ;  but  he 
was  vigorously  opposed  oy  the  Whigs,  especially  by  Mr. 
Cruger,  M.P.,  who  asserted  that  the  supporters  of  the  war 
were  convinced  of  its  hopelessness.  The  motion  was  with- 
drawn by  the  friends  of  the  Government  to  avoid  the  dis- 
credit of  a  defeat.  On  the  28th  August,  a  public  meeting 
was  held  to  promote  the  formation  of  a  volunteer  corps. 
The  movement  met  with  slender  support,  but  about  tne 
same  time  the  anti-American  committee  reported  that  they 
had  raised  1,306  men  for  the  service  of  the  Government,  A 
new  subscription  was  started  to  obtain  1,000  more  infantry 
and  marines,  and  about  £2,000  were  contributed.  The  local 
bounty  paid  to  every  able  seaman  entering  the  navy  was  12, 
guineas. 

Sailors,  nevertheless,  shunned  the  fleet,  and  the  press-gangs 
were  constantly  on  the  alert  to  snap  up  victims.  An  impu- 
dent outrage  occurred  on  the  12th  July,  in  the  Exchange, 
at  the  hour  when  merchants  were  accustomed  to  assemble ; 
a  press-gang  entering  the  building  and  seizing  Mr.  James 
Caton,  a  retired  ship  captain  and  the  owner  of  several 
vessels.  The  magistrates  Dein^  set  at  defiance  by  the  com- 
mander of  the  gang,  application  was  made  for  a  habeas 
corpus,  which  was  granted,  while  Mr.  Burke  made  remon- 
strances to  the  Admiralty.  Mr.  Caton,  who  was  released  in 
a  few  days,  sued  the  officers  of  the  press-gang  for  damages, 
and  obtained  a  verdict  for  £160. 

The  sanitary  advantages  of  sea-bathing  appear  to  have 
been  first  urged  by  a  London  physician  named  Richard 
Russell,  about  1760.  For  some  years  his  converts  were 
chiefly  drawn  from  fashionable  circles,  but  the  pleasures 
and  advantages  of  a  change  of  air  began  to  be  recognised 
by  all  well-to-do  people  as  soon  as  Weymouth  was  honoured 
by  the  patronage  of  George  III.  As  that  village  was  the 
nearest  spot  at  which  wealthy  Bristolians  could  meet  with 
clear  water,  it  had  been,  even  before  the  king's  first  visit, 
their  favourite  resort.  At  length  an  advertisement  in  Felix 
Farley's  Journal  announced  that  **  the  new  Bristol  and  Wey- 
mouth Diligence,  in  one  day,"  would  begin  to  run  twice  a 
week  on  the  9th  August,  1779.  The  service  was  of  course 
suspended  on  the  approach  of  winter.  It  was  not  until 
twenty  years  later  that  citizens  thought  of  bathing  in  the 


1779-80.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  441 

troubled  waters  of  the  Bristol  Channel.  In  April,  1797,  an 
advertisement  announced  that  Jane  Biss  and  Son  had  fitted 
up  two  commodious  houses  at  Uphill  for  the  reception  of 
families  or  single  persons  "  for  health  or  sea  bathing.*' 
Weston-super-Mare  was  then  a  scanty  hamlet  of  labourers' 
hovels.  Minehead  next  attempted  to  attract  visitors,  a 
lodging-house  being  first  announced  there  in  1800. 

Coflfee-houses  lost  their  early  popularity  about  this  date. 
The  once  famous  Foster's  Coffee-house,  the  site  of  which  is 
absorbed  in  the  corporate  buildings  in  Corn  Street,  ceased 
to  be  a  place  of  entertainment  in  1779,  and  was  purchased 
by  the  Corporation  in  1782  for  £660.  The  London  Coffee- 
bouse,  in  Com  Street,  and  probably  others,  disappeared 
about  the  same  time,  leaving  no  record  in  the  newspapers. 
A  victualler  announced  in  August  that  he  had  taken  the 
West  India  Coffee-house,  fitted  up  commodious  drinking 
rooms,  and  provided  himself  with  an  ample  stock  of  liquors. 

The  newspapers  of  November,  1779,  announced  the  arrival 
of  "  the  surprising  Irish  Giant,  only  19  years  of  age,  yet 
measuring  8  feet  high.  To  be  seen  at  Mr.  Safford's,  watch- 
maker, Clare  Street."  O'Brien,  the  phenomenon  in  question, 
who  attained  a  height  of  8  feet  3  inches,  visited  the  city 
annually  at  fair  time,  and  eventually  died  at  the  Hotwells 
in  September,  1806.  His  body  was  buried  in  the  lobby  of 
the  Romanist  chapel  in  Trenchard  Street,  in  a  grave  cut  12 
feet  deep  in  the  rock,  and  secured  by  iron  bars,  these  pre- 
cautions being  taken  to  defeat  the  acquisitive  intentions  of 
certain  local  anatomists. 

The  price  of  tar  having  greatly  increased  owing  to  the 
American  war,  ingenuity  was  taxed  to  discover  a  substitute 
for  an  article  indispensable  to  shipping.  In  Sarah  Farley's 
Journal  of  April  29th,  1780,"  the  family  of  a  person  deceased  " 
offer  for  sale  his  invention  of  a  method  of  making  English 
tar,  information  respecting  which  was  to  be  obtained  of  Mr. 
William  Champion.  Works  were  shortly  afterwards  estab- 
lished in  the  city  for  extracting  tar  from  coal. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  Corporation  for  some  years 
previous  to  this  date  had  been  one  of  increasing  embarrass- 
ment. Permanent  loans  being  not  always  obtainable,  a 
custom  grew  up  of  borrowing  on  promissory  notes  ;  and  in 
1778  and  1779,  to  meet  liabilities,  some  civic  property  was 
sold.  In  February,  1779,  a  loan  of  £1,600  was  obtained  from 
Alderman  Pope.  Repayment  being  called  for  in  1780,  a 
number  of  ground  rents  and  plots  of  building  land  were  dis- 
posed of  for  £6,100,  but  little  more  than  half  the  amount 


442  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1780. 

was  applied  to  the  liquidation  of  debt.  Similar  transactions 
took  place  in  several  subsequent  years,  yet  the  civic  lia- 
bilities largely  increased,  in  spite  of  the  alienations  of 
property.  The  increased  receipts  from  town  dues,  towards 
the  end  of  the  century,  at  length  arrested  the  Corporation  in 
its  downward  course. 

The  No  Popery  riots  which  took  place  in  London  in  June, 
1780,  produced  some  popular  effervescence  in  Bristol.  Great 
alarm  was  caused  by  an  outbreak  at  Bath,  where  the 
Romanist  chapel  and  five  adjoining  houses  were  burnt ;  and 
on  the  10th  June,  on  intelligence  that  a  Bath  mob  was  pre- 
paring to  march  westward,  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  took  the 
command  of  the  Monmouthshire  militia,  then  stationed  here. 
The  chapel  in  St.  James's  Back  being  threatened,  a  number 
of  volunteers  and  constables  were  placed  on  guard  until  the 
danger  had  passed  away,  the  magistrates  sitting  for  several 
nights  at  the  Council  House.  K  Farley's  Jourfial  of  the 
17th  stated  that  "  the  proprietor  of  the  Romish  chapel  in 
this  city  has  taken  part  of  it  down  in  order  to  convert  the 
building  to  another  use,  and  also  to  remove  any  pretence 
of  evil-disposed  persons  to  destroy  the  same."  The  Corpora- 
tion voted  £105  for  distribution  amongst  the  militia  men  ; 
and  **  sundry  expenses  on  account  of  a  threatened  and  ex- 
pected riot "  amounted  to  JtSd  12.«f.  5d. 

The  Common  Council  was  convoked  on  the  loth  August 
in  consequence  of  the  death  of  the  mayor,  Michael  Miller, 
jun.  Mr.  John  Bull  was  elected  to  fill  the  office  for  the  few 
weeks  that  remained  of  the  civic  year. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  23rd  August,  Mr. 
Joseph  Smith,  merchant  (the  host  of  Burke  in  1774),  was 
admitted  a  freeman  on  payment  of  a  fine  of  £10.  He  was 
on  the  same  day  appointed  a  common  councilman,  and  three 
weeks  later  he  was  elected  sheriff.  This  method  of  *'  pitch- 
forking "  members  subsequently  became  common. 

At  the  above  meeting  Alderman  Thomas  Harris  artfully 
introduced  a  scheme  destined  to  make  his  name  memorable. 
When  pressed  by  financial  difficulties,  the  Corporation  had 
often  found  it  convenient  to  borrow  money  from  the  re- 
venues of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  of  which  it  was 
trustee.  At  this  time  £4,716  had  been  so  appropriated, 
and  £2,400  were  due  for  interest  on  the  bonds — some  of  them 
outstanding  for  36  years — given  for  the  loans.  Mr.  Harris's 
proposal,  which  was  adopted,  was  that  a  committee  should 
be  appointed  to  examine  as  to  whether  any  and  what  sum 
of  money  was  due  to  the  charity  by  the  Chamber.     The 


1780.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  443 

cause  of  what  appeared  to  be  an  extraordinary  motion  was 
shortly  after  explained  by  the  alderman.  He  had  discovered 
that,  soon  after  the  death  of  John  Carr,  the  founder  of  the 
school,  the  Corporation,  in  order  to  hasten  its  establishment, 
made  advances  of  money,  amounting  to  about  £8,0tK),  for  the 
purj)ose  of  clearing  off  debts  and  legacies  forming  a  prior 
charge  on  the  estate.  These  advances,  he  alleged,  had  never 
been  repaid,  and  by  charging  interest  on  the  principal  at 
rates  varying  from  £10  to  £3  per  cent,  per  annum,  the  debt 
of  the  hospital  to  the  Corporation  was  asserted  to  be  i;*27,160. 
Mr.  Hari'is  did  not  mention  that  the  Corporation,  after 
speaking  of  those  advances  in  the  school  charter,  obtained 
fi'om  Queen  Elizabeth,  as  money  bestowed  for  charitable 
purposes,  had,  in  1600  and  1601,  sold  a  large  parcel  of  the 
hospital  estates,  for  the  purpose,  as  the  minute  books  state, 
of  paying  off  "  all "  the  debts  to  which  they  were  liable. 
The  further  fact  that  the  Council  had  from  time  to  time 
increased  the  number  of  scholars  as  the  hospital  income  im- 
proved, and  thus  practically  admitted  that  the  charity  was 
unencumbered,  was  also  conveniently  ignored.  Mr.  Harris's 
committee,  accepting  his  statements  and  calculations,  re- 
ported that  the  hospital  was  indebted  to  the  Chamber  in 
the  large  sum  just  mentioned,  that  the  £4,715  drawn  from 
the  funds  of  the  school  should  have  been  treated  as  instal- 
ments of  debt  repaid,  and  not  as  loans,  and  that  consequently 
no  interest  was  due  upon  the  bonds.  They  further  recom- 
mended a  reduction  in  the  number  of  boys  in  the  school,  so 
that  its  liabilities  might  be  more  speedily  reduced.  The  re- 
port (signed  by  Wm.  Miles,  mayor,  Thomas  Harris,  Nat. 
Foy,  and  others)  was  confirmed  by  the  Council  on  the  4th 
August,  1781 ;  when  the  bonds  were  ordered  to  be  cancelled, 
and  the  number  of  scholars  reduced  to  36.  The  latter 
change  was  a  practical  violation  of  a  pledge  made  by  the 
Chamber  to  Edward  Colston,  in  1698,  when  the  philanthro- 
pist endowed  the  hospital  with  an  estate  sufficient  to  educate 
six  boys,  upon  the  CoriX)ration  undertaking  that  not  less  than 
36  scholars  should  in  future  be  maintained.  Subsequent  to  the 
donation  of  Colston,  bequests  had  been  made  for  the  educa- 
tion of  seven  additional  boys,  so  that  either  the  pledge  to 
him  was  broken  or  the  later  endowments  were  misappro- 

})riated.  The  pecuniary  results  of  Mr.  Harris's  financial 
egerdemain  were  very  agreeable  to  the  Corporation.  Instead 
of  interest  being  paid  on  the  £4,715  borrowed  from  the 
charity,  £14,r)44  of  the  hospital  income  were  appropriated 
between  1781  and  1820 ;  at  which  latter  date  an  account 


444  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1780, 

was  presented  to  the  Charity  Commissioners,  claiming  £46,499 
as  still  due  from  the  school  estate  !  The  final  explosion  of 
this  impudent  claim  is  related  in  the  Annals  of  the  present 
century  (p.  238). 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place  in  September,  1780, 
when  Mr.  Henry  Cruger  and  Mr.  Burke  solicited  reelection. 
An  intention  to  oppose  them  had  been  announced  in  the 
previous  spring  by  two  staunch  supporters  of  the  king's 
American  policy  —  Mr.  Richard  Combe,  the  candidate  of 
1768,  who  had  just  been  appointed  Treasurer  of  the  Ordnance, 
and  Mr.  Matthew  Brickdale,  who  sought  to  avenge  his 
defeat  in  1774.  A  contribution  of  £1,000  towards  the  elec- 
tion expenses  of  the  Tory  candidates  was  made,  as  will 
presently  be  shown,  by  George  III.  The  issue  of  the  contest, 
as  regarded  Burke,  was  foreseen  by  many  of  his  friends. 
Lord  Clare,  during  his  long  membership,  paid  court  to  the 
city  during  every  recess,  and  made  himself  welcome  to  the 
lower  class  of  voters  by  copious  entertainments.  Burke  had 
been  absent  for  four  years,  and  his  means  did  not  permit 
hira  to  treat  the  poor  freemen.  In  despite  of  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  moreover,  he  had  supported  the 
repeal  of  the  laws  which  crushed  Irish  commerce  and 
manufactures  to  the  profit  of  English  shipowners  and 
clothiers,  and  had  assisted  in  passing  the  free  trade  measures 
of  1779.  He  had  given  offence  to  local  shopkeepers,  again, 
by  ignoring  their  disapproval  of  a  Bill  affording  some  relief 
to  the  wretched  people  confined  in  prison  for  debt,  and  by 
speaking  in  its  favour  after  they  had  petitioned  against  the 
measure.  And  Protestant  feeling  had  been  irritated  by  his 
avowed  hostility  to  the  political  disqualifications  imposed  on 
Roman  Catholics.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Cruger  consequently 
refused  to  coalesce  with  those  of  Burke,  and  maintained  an 
attitude  which  indicated  hostility  rather  than  sympathy.  It 
must  be  added  that  many  of  Burke's  influential  supporters 
in  1774  had  been  ruined  by  the  suicidal  rupture  with 
America.  In  the  face  of  these  menacing  circumstances, 
Burke  on  the  6th  September  met  his  supporters  in  the  Guild- 
hall, and  uttered  a  vindicatory  address,  styled  by  one  of  his 
biographers  the  greatest  si^e^ch  ever  delivered  on  an  English 
hustings,  in  which  he  boldly  challenged  the  approbation  of 
the  citizens  for  the  very  conduct  they  had  disapproved. 
On  the  8th,  fixed  for  the  formal  nomination  of  candidates, 
Mr.  Combe  died  suddenly  at  the  house  of  a  friend  in  College 
Green.  His  partisans  thereupon  nominated  Sir  Henry 
Lippincott,  Bart.,  who,  in  right  of  his  wife,  represented  the 


1780.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  445 

old  Bristol  families  of  Cann  and  Jefferis.  On  the  following 
morning,  Mr.  Burke,  in  a  brief  speech,  announced  his  with- 
drawal from  the  contest,  having  become  convinced  of  its 
hopelessness.  (His  action  was  doubtless  largely  inspired  by 
a  desire  to  save  his  friends  from  the  enormous  expense  of  a 
contest.)  The  death  of  Mr.  Combe  was  characteristically 
seized  by  the  orator  to  point  a  lesson  on  the  vanity  of  human 
passions.  The  fate  oi  the  lamented  gentleman,  he  said, 
snatched  away  "  while  his  desires  were  as  warm  and  his 
hopes  as  eager  as  ours,  has  feelingly  told  us  what  shadows 
we  are  and  what  shadows  we  pursue."  The  poll  continued 
open  for  nine  days,  although  the  issue  was  never  in  doubt. 
The  sinister  conduct  of  Mr.  Cruger's  committee  was  resented 
by  many  Whigs,  more  than  a  thousand  of  whom  refused  to 
record  their  votes,  and  Mr.  Cruger  withdrew  on  the  19th 
September,  alleging  that  the  majority  against  him  was  due 
to  bribery  and  undue  influence.     At  the  declaration  of  the 

g)ll,  on  the  20th,  the  numbers  were  given  as  follows  : — Mr. 
rickdale,  2771 ;  Sir  H.  Lippincott,  2B18 ;  Mr.  Cruger,  1271 ; 
Mr.  Samuel  Peach,  788,  Mr.  Burke,  18.  Mr.  Peach,  a  wealthy 
linen-draper  in  Maryleport  Street,  had  been  nominated  in 
the  interest  of  his  son-in-law,  Cruger.  Some  of  the  ignorant 
freeman  objecting  to  "plump"  for  that  gentleman,  Mr. 
Peach  was  set  up  to  receive  their  second  votes.  The  scur- 
rilous Tliistlethwaite  seized  the  occasion  to  produce  another 
local  satire,  entitled  "  Corruption,  a  Mock  Heroick,"  but  the 
work,  although  as  virulent  as  its  forerunners,  was  treated 
with  deserved  neglect.  A  placard  was  issued  by  the  Cruger- 
ites  soon  after  the  election,  professing  to  be  a  playbill  of 
performances  "  for  the  benefit  of  a  weak  Administration." 
The  assumed  players"  in  "  All  in  the  Wrong  :  or  The 
Tories  Distracted,"  include  "  Dupe,  by  Sir  H.  L — p — tt ; 
Orator  Mum,  by  Mr.  B — k — le  ;  Sir  George  Wood  be,  by  Mr. 
Da — b — ny  (Daubeny);  Counsellor  Clodpate,  by  Mr. 
H — b — se  (Hobhouse);  and  Judas  Iscariott,  by  Mr.  F — y 
(Foy)."  "  End  of  the  Second  Act,  an  Interlude,  intitled 
The  Poll  Books,  or  a  new  method  of  securing  a  Majority. 
The  part  of  Close  'em  by  Sir  Henry  Laughing  Stock,  from 
the  Theatre  at  Gloucester.  This  is  reckoned  the  first 
exhibition  of  the  kind,  and  for  his  peculiar  excellence 
therein  the  Performer  was  rewarded  with  a  Title."  Lip- 
pincott was  sheriff  of  Gloucestershire  in  1776-7,  during 
a  fierce  bye-election,  in  which  he  was  charged  with  par- 
tiality. He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1778,  and  as  his 
only  known  merit  lay  in   his  adherence  to  the   "  king's 


446  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1780-81. 

friends/'   the   sarcasm  of  the  Crugerites  was  not   without 
plausible  foundation. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  October,  an  oflTer  was 
made,  on  behalf  of  the  vestry  of  All  Saints'  parish,  to  take 
down  the  Merchants'  Tolzey,  opposite  the  Council  House, 
and  to  rebuild  "  the  late  London  Coffee-house,"  at  the  east 
angle  of  the  Exchange,  in  a  style  similar  to  that  of  the  Post 
Office  at  the  western  corner  (by  which  improvement  Corn 
Street  would  be  widened  6J  feet),  provided  the  Corporation 
would  subscribe  £400  towards  the  outlay,  and  grant  a  lease 
of  certain  rooms,  "  formerly  the  Exchange  Tavern/'  at  a 
rent  of  £100.  The  Chamber  consented  to  both  conditions. 
The  plan  involved  the  removal  of  the  cistern  of  All  Saints' 
Conduit,  which  was  to  be  placed  on  the  first  floor  of  the 
new  house,  while  the  fountain  itself  was  removed  from  Com 
Street  into  All  Saints'  Lane. 

Sir  Henry  Lippincott,  Bart,  M.P.,  whose  election  has  just 
been  recorded,  died  on  the  1st  January,  1781.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  Union  (Whig)  club  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Con- 
stitutional club  of  their  opponents,  proposing  that  an  agree- 
ment should  be  made  for  dividing  the  representation  between 
the  two  parties,  and  so  restoring  "  peace  and  good  neighbour- 
hood "  ;  but  the  Tories,  assured  of  pecuniary  assistance  from 
the  Crown,  and  counting  upon  continued  discord  in  their 
enemies'  camp,  declined  to  comply.  Their  foresight  was 
justified  by  events.  The  friends  of  Burke,  although  he  had 
been  elected  for  Malton,  were  anxious  to  reinstate  him  in 
his  former  seat ;  but  the  chief  supporters  of  Cruger  declared 
that  unless  that  gentleman  was  promised  the  representation 
of  Malton,  they  would  bring  another  candidate  forward  for 
Bristol,  and  spare  neither  money  nor  labour  to  defeat  Mr. 
Burke.  A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Cruger  took  the  field,  while 
Mr.  George  Daubeny  was  selected  by  the  Ministerial  party, 
an  i  obtained,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  the  approval  of 
George  III.  The  contest  was  of  a  virulent  character,  the 
Tories  expatiating  on  the  fact  that  Mr.  Cruger  was  a 
"  foreigner  "  (he  was  a  native  of  New  York)  whose  sym- 
pathies were  wholly  with  the  '^  rebels " ;  whilst  it  was 
alleged  by  the  other  camp  that  Mr.  Daubeny  and  some  of 
his  prominent  friends  had  openly  avowed  sympathy  with 
the  Jacobites  during  the  rebellion  of  1745.  Both  parties 
squandered  large  sums  in  "  entertaining  "  the  electors.  One 
ot  Daubeny's  handbills  invited  "  all  true  Britons  "  to  a  dinner 
at  the  Full  Moon  inn,  Stoke's  Croft,  "  to  try  the  differ- 
ence between  American  bull  beef  and  the  roast  beef  of  Old 


1781.]  .  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  447 

England/'  and  "  to  drink  a  health  to  the  Friend  of  the 
King  and  the  Constitution/'  In  retort  the  Crugerites  as- 
sured the  freemen  that  **  without  Cruger  we  should  have 
had  no  beef  nor  ale/'  their  placard  concluding  with  **  A 
large  loaf,  a  full  pot,  and  Cruger  for  ever."  Many  collisions 
occurred  in  the  streets  between  the  hired  mobs  of  the  two 
parties,  and  it  was  alleged  by  the  Crugerites  that  the  press- 
gang  was  under  the  orders,  if  not  in  the  pay,  of  their  antag- 
onists. The  election,  which  began,  on  the  31st  January, 
was  not  concluded  until  the  24th  February,  when  the  poll 
was  declared  to  be  :  for  Mr.  Daubeny,  3143  ;  for  Mr.  Cruger, 
2771.  A  deadly  affray  marked  the  close  of  the  contest.  A 
party  of  Crugerites,  passing  along  the  quays,  took  offence 
at  some  flags  displayed  by  a  Swansea  vessel,  and  ordered 
the  crew  to  lower  them.  The  demand  being  accompanied 
by  some  stone- throwing,  the  sailors  fired  several  swivel  guns 
upon  the  crowd,  killing  two  men  instantly,  and  wounding 
many  other  persons,  including  three  children.  The  verdict 
of  the  coroner's  jury  on  the  bodies  of  the  victims  was 
*'  justifiable  homicide  "  ;  but  there  is  in  Temple  churchyard 
an  inscription  to  their  memory,  alleging  that  they  were 
**  inhumanly  murdered  "  by  three  men,  whose  names  appear 
on  the  tombstone.  Mr.  Cruger  petitioned  against  the  re- 
turn, but  his  case  was  ultimately  withdrawn. 

A  singular  proof  of  the  manner  in  which  employers  con- 
sidered themselves  entitled  to  deal  with  their  workmen  at 
election  times  is  unconsciously  revealed  in  an  abusive  letter 
addressed  to  Mr.  Cruger  by  an  opponent,  in  one  of  the  Tory  ' 
journals.  The  writer  says : — "  At  the  election  in  1774  you 
ruined  so  many  of  the  labouring  freemen  by  inveigling  them 
to  vote  in  opposition  to  their  masters,  and  you  were  so  con- 
stantly teased  with  the  cries  of  their  wives  and  children, 
that  you  removed  from  Park  Street  to  Weston,  near  Bath,  v 
to  prevent  their  craving  solicitations  from  reaching  your 
ears.  You  are  now  again  spiriting  up  the  journeymen  free- 
men to  disoblige  their  masters,  and  tnereby  to  reduce  them 
and  their  families  to  the  same  miserable  situation."  The 
writer's  inability  to  perceive  the  discredit  he  was  heaping 
U|>on  his  friends  is  both  amusing  and  edifying.  Party 
spirit  raged  at  this  period  with  almost  unexampled  viru- 
lence. Mr.  R.  Smith  states  that  many  men  regarded  their 
J)olitical  opponents  as  personal  enemies,  and  that  candidates 
or  vacancies  in  the  Infirmary  staff  had  no  chance  of  success 
unless  they  had  the  approval  of  the  Tory  club  at  the  White 
Lion  (Smith  MSS.). 


v/ 


448  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1781. 

The  assistance  rendered  by  George  III.  to  Mr.  Daubeny, 
as  a  supporter  of  his  American  policy,  was  first  brought  to 
light  by  the  publication  of  the  king's  letters  to  Lord  North. 
Additional  evidence  has  been  produced  by  the  Historical 
MSS.  Commission  (10th  Report).  The  king,  it  appears,  had 
an  election  manager  in  the  person  of  Mr.  John  Robinson, 
Secretary  to  the  Treasury,  for  whom  he  reserved  £20,000 
yearly  to  aid  suitable  candidates.  The  Premier,  Lord 
North,  in  a  letter  to  Robinson,  dated  April  13th,  1781,  says  : 
— "  I  suppose  we  must  comply  with  the  requests  of  Lord 
Sheffield  [then  contesting  Coventry]  and  Mr.  Daubeny  .  .  . 
J  suppose  the  following  sums  will  do.  Lord  S.  £2000,  Mr. 
D.  £1600,  being  £600  more  than  he  asked  for  at  first.  But 
perhaps  Mr.  D.  will  not  be  satisfied,  and  it  will  be  necessary 
to  give  him  more.  The  demands  on  this  occasion  are  ex- 
orbitant beyond  the  example  of  any  former  time.''  As  it 
turned  out,  Mr.  Daubenj'^  was  so  far  from  being  satisfied 
with  £1,600  that  he  applied  for  £6,000  from  the  royal 
bounty,  and  actually  got  them.  Lord  North,  in  sending  the 
king  an  account  of  election  charges  just  paid  (in  addition  to 
the  above  they  included  £2,000  for  Gloucestershire),  pleaded 
that  **  only  £1000  "  had  been  sent  to  Bristol  at  the  general 
election,  and  that  the  Tory  merchants,  having  contributed 
largely  on  that  occasion,  "  as  well  as  to  many  loyal  sub- 
scriptions," had  thought  it  not  improper  to  ask  for  help  in 
the  second  contest.  Lord  North's  letter  shows  that  the 
king's  outlay  for  the  promotion  of  electoral  corruption  had 
reached  in  a  few  months  to  about  £63,000,  exclusive  of  two 
pensions  amounting  to  £1,600  a  year. 

The  Arethusa,  a  44  gun  frigate,  one  of  five  war  vessels 
then  being  built  on  the  Avon,  was  launched  on  the  10th 
April,  1781.  The  Arethusa  for  many  years  enjoyed  a  special 
popularity  amongst  Bristolians. 

On  the  death,  in  April,  1781,  of  the  Rev.  Carew  Reynell, 
minister  of  Redland  Chapel,  an  unexpected  dispute  arose 
respecting  the  patronage  attached  to  the  building.  Mr. 
Cossins,  who  built  and  endowed  the  chapel,  and  added  a 
handsome  house  for  the  chaplain,  appointed  the  first  incum- 
bent, and  subsequent  vacancies  had  been  filled  by  his  repre- 
sentatives, one  of  whom,  Mr.  John  Innys,  his  brother-in-law, 
devised  the  chapel  and  advowson  to  Mr.  Jeremy  Baker,  who 
appointed  Reynell,  and  now  proposed  to  select  his  successor. 
The  chapel,  however,  had  never  been  consecrated,  and  the 
Hon.  Henry  Fane,  the  patron  of  Westbury,  in  which  parish 
it  was  situated,  in  conjunction  with  the  Rev.  John  Whet- 


1781.]  IN   THE   BIGHTBBNTH   CENTURY.  449 

ham,  incumbent  of  the  parish,  refused  to  permit  Baker's 
nominee  to  officiate.  The  chapel  was  accordingly  closed, 
and  the  yearly  income  was  transferred  to  the  Infirmary,  in 
accordance  with  Mr.  Cossins's  foundation  deeds.  Several 
years  elapsed  before  further  steps  were  taken.  At  length, 
Mr.  Samuel  Edwards,  of  CJotham  Lodge,  a  friend  of  Baker's, 
purchased  the  advowson  of  Westbury,  and  Whetham  was 
induced,  no  doubt  for  a  satisfactory  consideration,  to  resign 
the  living.  The  new  patron  then  nominated  his  nephew, 
the  Rev.  Wm.  Embury  Edwards,  to  the  incumbency,  and 
Mr.  Baker  presented  the  same  person  to  Redland.  And 
as  it  was  clear  that  the  incumbent  of  Westbury  could  at 
any  future  time  prevent  a  minister  from  officiating  in  the 
latter  building,  it  was  agreed  between  the  two  patrons  that 
the  advowson  of  the  chapel  should  be  annexed  to  that  of  the 
parish,  and  that  the  nomination  to  both  should  be  exercised 
alternately  by  themselves  and  their  heirs,  trustees  being  ap- 
pointed to  carry  out  the  compact.  Manuscripts  narrating  the 
above  facts  are  preserved  in  the  Consistory  Court.  Petition 
was  next  made  to  the  Bishop  for  the  consecration  of  the 
chapel  and  burial  ground,  and  the  ceremony  took  place  on 
the  12th  November,  1790.  [The  account  of  this  dispute  by 
the  author  of  the  Chronological  History  is  a  pure  fiction.] 
Whetham,  through  the  influence  of  the  Fane  family,  was 
appointed  Dean  of  Lismore  in  1791. 

At  the  Gloucestershire  summer  assizes  in  1781,  an  action 
brought  at  the  instance  of  the  Society  of  Merchants  against 
the  lessee  of  the  Hot  Well,  who  had  imposed  a  charge  upon 
Bristolians  taking  water  from  the  spring,  contrary  to  the 
conditions  of  his  lease,  came  on  for  trial,  and  resulted  in  a 
verdict  for  the  plaintiff.  It  will  afterwards  be  shown,  how- 
ever, that  upon  the  lease  being  renewed  at  a  greatly  in- 
creased rent,  the  occupier  was  allowed  to  resume  exactions 
on  the  local  public,  and  raised  at  the  same  time  the  charges 
imposed  on  visitors,  with  disastrous  effects  on  the  popularity 
of  the  Well. 

The  long  pending  design  of  establishing  a  civic  Mansion 
House  was  definitively  approved  at  a  corporate  gathering  on 
the  4th  August,  1781.  The  Chamber,  which  had  that  day 
adopted  Alderman  Harris's  scheme  for  despoiling  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Hospital,  resolved,  '*  unanimously,  that  a  messu- 
age in  Queen  Square  in  the  occupation  of  Mr.  James  Harford 
be  forthwith  purchased  at  the  price  of  £1,360,  in  order  that 
the  same  may  be  used  as  a  Mayoralty  House."  The  house 
in  question — standing  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  north  row — 

o  G 


450  THE   ANNALS   Of  BRISTOL  [1781. 

belonged  to  Miss  Susanna  Calwell,  by  whom  it  was  let  at 
£10B  per  annum.  It  was  originally  built  by  Alderman 
Shuter  (mayor,  1711).  A  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
clude the  purchase,  and  to  arrange  for  the  suitable  furnish- 
ing of  the  house.  Possession,  however,  was  not  obtained 
until  March,  1783,  and  the  alterations  were  conducted  with 
extreme  deliberation,  £800  being  spent  in  1784  and  £1,600 
in  1786.  The  work  of  furnishing  followed.  The  Council 
was  at  first  in  an  economical  mood,  and  restricted  the  furnish- 
ing committee  to  an  outlay  of  £800.  An  additional  sum  of 
£360  was  voted  to  supply  the  great  room  with  chandeliers, 
etc. ;  and  in  August,  1786,  the  chamberlain  was  ordered  to 
pay  further  charges  incurred  by  the  reckless  committee, 
amounting  to  £3,400  (including  £20  8s.  8d.  for  "  crown  glass 
for  the  windows  in  the  Great  Room,"  £1  I6s.  for  an  umbrella, 
and  £4  for  a  "  large  turtle  tubb  ").  Whilst  this  outlay  was 
going  on,  the  Corporation  was  compelled  to  sell  property  to 
the  value  of  £3,6(X),  and  to  increase  the  city  debt  by  nearly 
£6,300,  in  order  to  meet  its  expenditure.  The  Mansion 
House  was  occupied  in  the  spring  of  1786,  when  the 
scavenging  authorities,  desirous  of  getting  a  little  profit  out 
of  the  institution,  raised  the  assessed  value  of  the  house 
from  £70  to  £400.  On  appeal,  however,  the  rating  was  re- 
duced to  £90. 

A  maltster,  named  Joseph  George  Pedley.  was  the  subject 
of  much  local  objurgation  about  this  perioa.  According  to 
his  creditors,  he  raised  about  £10,000  by  means  of  fraudulent 
representations,  secreted  a  large  portion  of  the  money,  and 
sought  to  conceal  his  knavery  by  setting  fire  to  his  premises 
in  Little  King  Street,  the  books  and  papers  in  which  were 
destroyed.  Being  declared  a  bankrupt,  and  suspected  of 
arson,  he  was  committed  to  Newgate,  from  which  he  escaped, 
but  was  again  captured  at  Newcastle.  A  second  attempt  to 
break  out  of  Newgate  was  detected  and  foiled.  On  a  third 
occasion  he  filed  through  heavy  fetters,  and  broke  through 
the  floor  of  his  cell,  but  was  unable  to  escape  from  the  room 
below.  At  length  he  confessed  that  he  had  concealed  upwards 
of  £2,600  of  his  plunder  in  the  western  suburbs,  and  Felix 
Farley^ 8  Journal o{ the  24th  Sept., 1781,  announced  that£l,000 
in  notes  were  found  buried  near  "  Tinkers'  place,"  Tyndall's 
Park,  and  600  or  700  guineas  near  Gallows  Acre  Lane.  The 
prisoner,  who  guided  the  searchers  to  the  latter  hoard, 
alleged  that  a  third  had  been  rifled.  In  April,  1782,  Pedley 
was  found  guilty  of  destroying  his  house ;  but  on  the  in- 
dictment being  laid   before  the  judges  they  declared  that 


1781-82.]  IN   THIS    EiaHTEENTH   CENTUBT.  451 

the  law  did  not  prohibit  the  lessee  of  a  dwelling  from  setting 
fire  to  it.  The  rogue  was  then  committed  for  burning  the 
adjoining  houses.  After  lying  in  prison  for  more  than  a 
year,  he  was  acquitted  of  this  charge  in  May,  1783.  His 
liberation  as  an  insolvent  did  not  take  place  until  June, 
1785.  He  was  then  immured  for  defalcations  under  the 
excise  laws;  and  Mr.  B.  Smith  saw  him  in  the  King's 
Bench  prison  in  1794,  keeping  a  coal-shed.  He  was  released 
only  by  death. 

Sarah  Farley^s  Journal  of  February  2nd,  1782,  contains  an 
advertisement  oflfering  the  "  Enterprise  of  the  Bristol  Water 
Works  Company  to  be  sold  or  let.''  No  adventurer  coming 
forward  to  continue  the  undertaking,  the  service  of  water 
was  soon  after  discontinued. 

The  wasteful  system  under  which  the  Customs  depart- 
ment was  administered  is  illustrated  by  a  letter  from  George 
III.  to  Lord  North,  dated  Februarjr  11th.  The  king  re- 
quests the  Prime  Minister  to  nominate  Mr.  Barnard,  the 
royal  librarian,  to  a  sinecure  employment  of  either  comp- 
troller or  collector  of  the  Custom-house  at  Bristol,  held  for 
above  forty  years  by  a  Mr.  Bowman,  just  dead  at  Egham. 
His  Majesty  habitually  relieved  the  Civil  List  from  pensions 
to  dependents  by  throwing  them  in  this  manner  on  the  or- 
dinary revenue.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  Custom- 
house archives  in  1831,  the  result  of  the  king's  letter  cannot 
be  discovered. 

The  killing  of  a  refractory  Spaniard  by  a  sentinel  in 
March,  1782,  occasions  the  first  mention  in  the  local  press  of 
the  Government  buildings  at  Fishponds  for  the  safe  custody 
of  prisoners  of  war.  The  place  became  so  extensive  that  an 
engraved  view  of  it  was  published  in  the  Gentleman^ 8  Magor 
zhie  (vol.  84).  Belies  of  the  prison — converted  into  a  work- 
house for  the  Bristol  Union  in  1833 — may  still  be  seen. 

By  this  time  the  country  had  become  weary  of  the  inglo- 
rious war  against  the  revolted  Americans  which  the  Prime 
Minister  was  waging,  against  his  own  judgment,  in  deference 
to  George  HI.  Early  in  1782,  the  Corporation  of  Bristol,  re- 
pudiating its  former  sympathy  with  the  Government,  unani- 
mously addressed  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons 
against  the  further  continuance  of  the  contest,  and  prayed 
the  House  **  to  advise  the  King  to  a  total  change  of  the  un- 
happy system  which  has  involved  the  nation  in  such  compli- 
cated misfortunes."  A  similar  petition  was  adopted  at  a 
public  meeting  of  the  citizens  in  the  Guildhall.  On  the 
27th  February,  on  the  motion  of  General  Conway,  an  Ad- 


452  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1782. 

dress,  in  whicli  the  above  sentiments  were  practically  em- 
bodied, was  carried  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  three 
weeks  later  the  Ministry  resigned.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Common  Council  in  April  (17  members  being  absent),  it  was 
resolved  to  present  the  freedom  of  the  city  to  General  Con- 
way for  his  exertions  to  hasten  peace,  and  a  similar  compli- 
ment was  paid  to  eight  members  of  the  new  Rockingham 
Ministry.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  also  passed  to  Burke  for  his 
great  scheme  of  economical  reform.  A  deputation  of  five 
gentlemen  set  oflf  for  London  to  convey  these  compliments, 
and  were  paid  £92  for  the  expenses  of  their  journey.  About 
the  same  time,  the  war  with  France  was  marked  with  a 
naval  triumph  that  flung  Bristol  into  transports  of  joy.  Five 
of  the  English  plantations  in  the  West  Indies  had  been 
captured  by  the  French,  and  as  a  commanding  fleet  under 
De  Grasse  was  cruising  in  the  neighbourhood,  awaiting  the 
junction  of  a  Spanish  flotilla,  the  loss  of  Jamaica  was  deemed 
only  too  probable.  At  this  critical  moment  Admiral  Rodney 
challenged  the  French  navy  to  combat,  and  on  the  12th 
April  a  desperate  battle  resulted  in  a  decisive  English  vic- 
tory. Intelligence  of  this  great  event  arrived  in  Bristol  on 
the  18th  May,  and  as  the  fortunes  of  many  wealthy  citizens 
were  involved  in  the  fate  of  Jamaica,  the  demonstrations  of 
joy  were  universal.  In  September,  Rodney,  who  had  won 
a  peerage  by  his  success,  disembarked  at  Kingroad,  and,  on 
the  invitation  of  Mr.  Tyndall,  spent  a  night  at  the  Royal 
Fort.  The  only  token  of  rejoicing  that  could  be  improvised 
was  a  torchlight  procession  of  several  hundred  citizens,  in 
which  a  prominent  figure  was  John  Weeks,  of  the  Bush  inn, 
who  kept  open  house  in  honour  of  the  occasion,  and  distri- 
buted liquor  gratuitously  to  the  assembled  populace.  Lord 
Rodney,  in  thanking  the  citizens  for  the  demonstration, 
promised  to  return  ;  and  when  he  did  so,  on  the  15th  No- 
vember, he  met  with  a  reception  never  before  accorded  to  a 
subject.  On  reaching  Totterdown  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
sheriffs  in  a  laudatory  address,  to  which  he  briefly  replied. 
An  imposing  procession  was  then  organised.  Equestrians 
and  private  carriages,  forming  a  long  line,  were  headed  by 
a  figure  of  Britannia,  **  supported  by  four  javelin  men," 
seated  in  a  car  drawn  by  six  horses,  the  drivers  in  the  dress 
of  sailors.  Representatives  of  Mars  and  Minerva  followed  in 
similar  state,  together  with  three  boats  placed  upon  wheels, 
accommodating  bands  of  music  embowered  in  laurels,  while 
from  a  ship  of  40  tons  burden,  also  on  a  carriage  drawn  by 
horses,  the  crew  fired  at  intervals  salutes  from  swivel  guns. 


1782.]  IN   THE    SIOHTBBNTH    CEKTUBT.  453 

Flags,  insignia,  and  trophies  of  every  kind  added  additional 
variety  to  the  scene.  The  cavalcade  passed  through  the 
principal  streets  to  the  Merchants'  Hall,  where  the  distin- 
guished guest,  before  sitting  down  to  a  grand  dinner,  was 
presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  company.  The  day  con- 
cluded with  a  general  illumination.  John  Weeks,  who  was 
the  leading  spirit  in  preparing  the  manifestations,  afterwards 
boasted  that  they  had  cost  him  je447.  On  this  account,  per- 
haps. Weeks  "  claimed  the  honour  "  of  becoming  one  of  Lord 
Rodney's  postboys,  on  his  departure  next  morning  for  Bath. 
This  was  the  last  local  incident  of  note  in  connection  with 
the  war.  The  formal  proclamation  of  peace  took  place  on 
the  13th  October,  1783,  with  the  usual  formalities. 

An  advertisement  in  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  May  25th, 
1782,  affords  a  final  glimpse  of  the  famous  Bristol  China 
works  of  Richard  Champion : — '*  Now  selling,  by  hand,  at 
the  late  manufactory  in  Castle  Green,  the  remaining  stock 
of  Enamel  Blue  and  White,  and  White  Bristol  China.  The 
manufactory  being  removed  into  the  north." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  in  May,  a  proposal 
of  the  St.  Stephen's  Improvement  trustees  was  produced, 
offering  to  widen  the  thoroughfare  on  the  Quay,  near  the 
church,  from  twenty-four  to  forty-four  feet,  provided  the 
Corporation  surrendered  the  site  of  the  Fish-market.  The 
Chamber  accepted  the  terms ;  and  gave  orders  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  market  to  a  site  between  Nicholas  and  Baldwin 
Streets.  The  purchase  of  the  required  land,  however,  was 
not  effected  until  1786,  aild  the  retail  dealers  in  fish  long 
resorted  to  St.  James's  market. 

At  another  meeting,  in  December,  the  Council  resolved  to 
present  the  freedom  of  the  city  to  Lord  Rodney  for  "  his 
glorious  and  decisive  victory,  which  saved  Jamaica  from  an 
attack,  and  protected  in  an  eminent  degree  the  commercial 
interests  of  this  city."  It  seems  strange  that  the  Chamber 
did  not  discover  this  when  Lord  Rodney  was  in  Bristol.  The 
freedom  was  also  voted  to  Lord  Howe  for  his  gallant  relief 
of  Gibraltar,  and  a  similar  compliment  was  paid  in  1783  to 
Lord  Hood  "  for  his  important  services." 

In  December,  1782,  a  patent  was  granted  to  a  Bristol 
plumber  named  William  Watts,  for  his  newly  invented  pro- 
cess for  the  manufacture  of  shot.  The  invention  (said  to 
have  been  inspired  by  a  dream)  consisted  in  causing  the 
liquid  lead  to  fall  from  a  considerable  height,  the  metal  as- 
suming a  spherical  form  in  the  air.  Watts  constructed  a 
"  shot-tower "  on  Redcliff  Hill,  and  his  products  soon  ac- 


454  THE  ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1782-83. 

quired  celebrity.  A  local  journal  of  December,  1786,  an- 
nounced that  the  inventor  was  about  to  extend  his  works  by 
building  a  new  Gothic  tower,  which,  with  the  old  one,  was 
expected  to  remind  a  spectator  of  "  the  prospect  of  Westmin- 
ster Abbey."  In  a  few  years  Watts  amassed  about  £10,01)0, 
which  he  invested  in  an  unlucky  building  speculation  at 
Clifton — the  construction  of  Windsor  Terrace.  Owing  to  a 
peculiarity  of  the  strata,  the  whole  of  the  owner's  capital 
was  sunk  in  securing  the  foundation  of  the  house  overlook- 
ing the  Avon,  and  in  October,  1792,  the  building  was  adver- 
tised for  sale  in  an  unfinished  state.  In  February,  1794, 
Watts  was  declared  a  bankrupt,  and  lost  his  interest  in  a 
discovery  by  which  others  made  ample  fortunes.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1794,  it  was  announced  that  the  manufactory  on 
KedclifF  Hill  would  thenceforth  be  carried  on  by  "Philip 
George  and  Patent  Shot  Company."  No  later  reference  to 
Watts  has  been  found.  The  statement  made  in  some  local 
works  that  he  became  a  hosier  in  High  Street  is  incorrect. 

The  civic  accounts  for  March,  1783,  record  the  payment  of 
£3  17*.  lid.  to  a  messenger  despatched  into  Herefordshire  to 
obtain  the  signature  of  Alderman  Durbin  to  a  number  ot 
corporate  leases.  A  similar  item  occurs  in  1784.  The  alder- 
man, repudiating  the  duties  of  his  office,  which  included  a 
daily  supervision  of  the  constables  of  his  ward,  had  taken  up 
his  residence  near  Hereford,  and  refused  to  resign  his  gown. 
His  example  was  followed  by  other  aldermen,  nearly  all  of 
whom  had  ceased  to  reside  in  the  city  in  the  later  days  of 
the  unreformed  Corporation. 

The  spring  of  1783  was  a  period  of  great  distress  amongst 
the  poor  owing  to  the  high  price  of  food.  One  of  its  conse- 
quences was  a  series  of  disorders,  extending  over  three  days, 
amongst  the  sailors  of  the  port,  who  complained  that  their 
families  could  not  subsist  upon  their  earnings.  The  mayor 
at  length  allayed  the  discontent  by  promising  to  recommend 
the  shipowners  to  pay  30*.  a  month  to  each  man  when  at 
sea,  and  half  that  sum  when  in  Kingroad.  A  few  days 
later,  the  felons  confined  in  Newgate  prayed  for  relief 
through  the  newspapers,  stating  that  they  had  nothing  to 
live  upon  saving  twopence  a  day.  Untried  prisoners  re- 
ceived only  a  penny  daily,  and  many  must  have  starved  but 
for  the  relief  oflFered  by  the  public.  The  misery  caused  by 
the  dearth  led  to  a  frightful  increase  of  crime,  especially  of 
burglaries  and  highway  robberies.  No  protection  being 
aflForded  to  the  new  suburb  of  Kingsdown,  the  inhabitants, 
in  April,  advertised  for  "  a  few  able-bodied  young  men,  to 


1783.]  IN   THE   SIOHTSENTH   CENTURY.  455 

be  employed  as  a  nightly  patrole  "  in  that  locality.  This 
watch  was  continued,  at  intervals,  for  several  years.  The 
inhabitants  of  College  Green  were  also  compelled  to  take 
special  measures  against  footpads  and  burglars,  and  in  March, 
1790,  the  dean  and  chapter  gave  them  permission  to  erect  a 
watch-box  in  the  middle  of  the  green  "  for  their  safety  and 
protection.'' 

The  Common  Council,  in  May,  presented  the  freedom  of 
the  city  to  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  son  and  eventually  successor 
to  the  tenth  Duke  of  Norfolk.  His  lordship  took  much  in- 
terest in  West  Country  affairs,  and  was  thrice  mayor  of 
Gloucester.  For  the  honour  conferred  upon  him  in  Bristol 
he  was  indebted  to  his  Whig  politics,  and  to  his  fame  as  a 
gastronomist. 

The  Council,  at  the  above  meeting,  admitted  Mr.  Thomas 
Daniel,  jun.,  as  a  freeman  on  the  payment  of  a  fine  of  12 
guineas.  Mr.  Daniel  was  in  1786  elected  a  common  coun- 
cillor, was  chosen  mayor  in  1796,  and  eventually  became  the 
famous  alderman  who,  from  his  complete  omnipotence  in 
corporate  affairs,  was  sometimes  called  King  of  Bristol. 

A  subscription  on  the  tontine  principle  was  started  in  July 
for  completing  a  range  of  warehouses  near  St.  Stephen's 
church,  which  the  parochial  trustees  had  begun,  but  were 
unable  to  finish.  The  number  of  subscribers  was  196,  and 
the  estate  was  to  be  divided  amongst  the  last  survivors. 
(The  final  division  did  not  take  place  until  about  1860.)  In 
March,  1784,  an  attempt  was  made  to  form  a  tontine  for  the 
building  of  houses  in  Great  George  Street,  near  Brandon 
Hill,  but  the  scheme  was  unsuccessful. 

The  curious  brass  pillars  in  front  of  the  Exchange  once 
formed  only  a  part  of  a  numerous  collection.  The  city  cham- 
berlain, in  September,  1783,  debits  himself  with  £12  17«. 
6d.,  "  received  for  the  metal  tops  of  the  ancient  pillars  re- 
moved from  All  Saints'  Penthouse,  and  the  Bridgwater  slip 
on  the  Back."  Immediately  afterwards,  17«.  6d.  is  obtained 
"  for  the  top  of  a  small  pillar "  removed  from  the  former 
place.  In  1784,  there  was  a  receipt  of  £8  6«.  "for  a  pot 
metal  pillar  and  cap,  taken  down  under  the  Tolsey  ;  "  and 
£8  ISs.  id.  was  obtained  in  1796  "  for  the  cap  or  top  of  an 
old  pillar  supposed  formerly  to  stand  at  the  Bridgwater 
Slip,  and  which  for  many  years  last  past  lay  useless  in  the 
Council  House  cellars.  Weight,  2  cwt.  3  qr.  121b.  of  pot 
brass  at  GJd.  per  lb." 

On  the  10th  December,  1783,  the  Council  appointed  Mr. 
Richard  Burke,  brother  of  the  great  orator,  to  the  recorder- 


/ 


456  THE   ANNALS   OF   BKISTOL  [1783-84. 

ship  of  the  city,  in  the  place  of  Lord  Ashburton,  deceased. 
Unable  to  foresee  the  imminence  of  events  destined  to  trans- 
form the  Burkes  into  ultra  conservatives,  the  Tory  council- 
lors voted  against  the  appointment. 

The  hackney  carriages  maintained  in  the  city  were  still 
kept  in  the  stable  yards  of  their  proprietors.  On  the  26th 
December,  1783,  however,  a  coach  took  its  stand  near  the 
Exchange,  and  it  was  styled  "  No.  1  "  by  the  civic  officials. 
The  adventure  meeting  with  favour,  "  No.  2  "  coach  made 
its  appearance  three  months  later,  and  also  stood  at  the  Ex- 
change. The  charge  made  to  any  place  within  the  limits 
of  the  city  was  a  shilling,  and  for  half  a  mile  beyond  the 
boundaries  Is.  6d,  By  the  summer  of  1786  the  coaches  had 
increased  to  18 ;  but  the  Corporation  had  imposed  no  regula- 
tions in  reference  to  fares,  and  there  were  loud  complaints 
of  imposition.  The  Chamber  at  length  drew  up  a  table  of 
rates  in  September,  1787,  when  20  vehicles  were  permitted 
to  ply. 

The  local  journals  of  March,  1784,  announced  that  the 
extensive  gardens  appertaining  to  the  Red  Lodge  were  to  be 
disposed  of  in  building  sites.  Part  of  the  ground  was  de- 
voted to  laying  out  a  street,  originally  styled  Bed  Lodge 
Street,  connecting  Park  Row  with  Trenchard  Street. 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  the  spring  of  1784  gave  rise 
to  the  longest  and  closest  contest  ever  known  in  Bristol.  Mr. 
Cruger's  resolve  to  attempt  a  reversal  of  the  decision  of  1781 
was  well  known,  and  although  he  was  in  America  when  the 
Houses  were  dismissed,  his  claims  were  strenuously  cham- 
pioned by  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Peach,  and  his  brother, 
Colonel  Cruger.  The  late  members,  Mr.  Brickdale  and  Mr. 
Daubeny,  jointly  solicited  re-election.  It  was  the  custom  of 
that  age  for  the  voters  to  be  brought  up  in  **  tallies,"  or 
batches,  by  the  agents  of  the  respective  candidates.  In 
order  to  prevent  Cruger's  opponents  from  bringing  up  two 
tallies  for  one,  and  so  giving  them  a  large  majority  in  the 
early  days  of  the  struggle,  Mr.  Peach  was  also  nominated  as 
a  candidate.  Cruger  being  absent,  the  opportunity  was 
seized  to  publish  a  copious  store  of  calumnies  against  him. 
A  charge  that  he  had  torn  down  and  trampled  upon  the 
English  flag  in  New  York  was  especially  pressed,  in  spite  of 
clear  evidence  as  to  its  falsehood.  The  polling  commenced 
on  the  3rd  April,  and  was  continued  until  the  8th  May — a 
period  of  five  weeks  and  a  day.  For  more  than  a  month  the 
competition  between  the  friends  of  Daubeny  and  Cruger  was 
60  close  as  to  leave  the  issue  in  doubt.     Nearly  a  thousand 


1784.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY,  457 

persons  were  admitted  as  freemen  during  the  contest.  The 
ultimate  result  was  as  follows  : — Mr.  Brickdale,  3458  ;  Mr. 
Cruger,  3062  ;  Mr.  Daubeny,  2982 ;  Mr.  Peach,  373.  Brick- 
dale  refused  to  be  "  chaired,''  to  the  great  wrath  of  the  lower 
class  of  freemen,  who  were  lx)untifully  treated  on  such  occa- 
sions. At  the  chairing  of  Colonel  Cruger  many  gentlemen 
appeared  "  in  blue  coats,  with  pink  capes,  being  the  party 
colour.''  In  the  evening,  the  White  Lion  inn — the  Tory 
headquarters — was  sacked  by  a  Crugerite  mob,  after  a  battle 
with  a  Tory  mob  assembled  in  Broad  Street.  Mr.  Daubeny 
petitioned  against  his  opponent's  return,  alleging  that  Mr. 
Cruger  had  ceased  to  be  an  English  subject,  but  the  House 
of  Commons  aflSrmed  the  election. 

One  of  the  favourite  relaxations  of  the  trading  class  at  this 
period  was  a  Sunday  excursion  to  one  or  other  of  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  where  the  innkeepers  provided  a  two  o'clock 
**  ordinary  "  for  the  entertainment  of  visitors.  Almondsbury, 
Henbury,  Shirehampton,  and  Brislington  enjoyed  especial 
popularity  in  this  way.  Owing  to  the  number  of  excursion- 
ists, a  Sunday  coach  to  Shirehampton,  vid  Henbury,  was 
started  in  July,  1784. 

The  changing  customs  of  city  life  during  the  century  are 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  Common  Council,  which 
assembled  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  1701,  fixed  the 
hour  of  meeting  at  noon  in  June,  1784.  Perhaps  an  equally 
significant  symptom  of  the  later  time  is  that  the  old  fine  of 
one  shilling  for  non-attendance  was  increased  to  half  a 
guinea.  A  week  or  two  later,  the  fines  for  refusing  the 
offices  of  mayor,  sheriff*,  and  councillor  were  again  fixed  at 
£400,  £300,  and  £200  respectively,  though,  as  will  be  seen 
afterwards,  with  no  practical  effect.  In  June,  1798,  the 
hour  of  meeting  was  further  postponed  until  one  o'clock. 

The  Corporation  announced  in  July  that  hay  and  straw 
would  be  permitted  to  be  brought  by  carts  into  Broadmead 
for  sale  every  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Friday.  The  old  hay- 
market  there,  which  had  become  obsolete,  was  formally  re- 
vived in  the  following  September. 

Down  to  July,  1784,  the  conveyance  of  letters  between 
the  principal  English  centres  was  generally  effected  in  con- 
formity with  the  system  established  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
II. ;  namely,  by  means  of  "  post-boys  "  (generally  sleepy  old 
men),  who  travelled  on  wretched  horses  at  an  average  rate 
of  under  four  miles  an  hour.  On  the  London  and  Bristol 
road,  it  had  been  found  necessary  to  provide  the  post-boys 
with  light  carts  for  carrying  the  mail  bags,  but  the  arrange- 


/ 


458  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  ,      [1784. 

ment  effected  no  acceleration  in  the  time  of  transit— from 
thirty  to  forty  hours,  according  to  the  state  of  the  roads.  An 
important  reform  in  the  service  was  at  length  accomplished 
at  the  instance  of  John  Palmer,  already  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Bristol  Theatre.  In  submitting  his  proposal 
in  1783  to  Mr.  Pitt,  the  Prime  Minister,  Palmer  pointed  out 
that  the  post,  instead  of  being  the  quickest,  was  almost  the 
slowest  conveyance  in  the  country,  that  robberies  were  fre- 
quent, that  the  mails  were  generally  entrusted  to  idle  "  boys  " 
without  character,  mounted  on  worn-out  hacks,  and  that 
these  men,  so  far  from  attempting  defence  or  flight  if 
attacked  by  a  highwayman,  were  more  likely  to  be  in  league 
with  him.  A  letter  despatched  from  Bristol  or  Bath  on 
Monday  was  not  delivered  in  London  until  Wednesday 
morning.  On  the  other  hand,  a  letter  confided  to  the  fast 
coach  of  Monday  reached  its  destination  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, and  the  consequence  was  that  Bristol  traders  and  others 
sent  letters  of  value  or  urgency  by  the  coach,  although  the 
proprietors  charged  2s,  for  each  missive,  or  six  times  the 
ordinary  postage.  Palmer  therefore  urged  the  Government 
to  establish  mail  coaches,  protected  by  well-armed  guards, 
the  working  cost  of  which  would  be  defrayed  by  travellers 
desirous  of  increased  speed  and  security,  while  the  post  office 
revenue  would  benefit  by  the  recovery  of  the  business  that 
had  fallen  into  private  hands.  Although  his  scheme  was 
vehemently  condemned  by  the  leading  officials  of  the  Post 
Office,  who  alleged  that  it  would  prove  not  only  costly  but 
impracticable,  and  that  robberies  would  greatly  increase  if 
the  transit  of  letters  took  place  daily  at  fixed  hours,  the 
Premier  gave  orders  that  it  should  be  tried,  as  an  experi- 
ment, on  the  road  from  London  to  Bristol.  The  coaches 
started  on  the  2nd  August,  1784,  the  vehicles  being  timed  to 
perform  the  journey  in  sixteen  hours.  Only  four  passengers 
were  carried  by  each  two  horse  "  machine,'*  and  the  fare  was 
£1  8ft,  The  immediate  effect  was  to  accelerate  the  delivery 
of  letters  by  a  day.  Palmer  was  installed  in  the  London 
office  to  superintend  the  working  of  his  scheme,  and  had  to 
fight  single-handed  against  the  staff,  which  eagerly  strove 
to  expel  the  intruder  and  thwart  his  reforms.  One  of 
Palmer's  proposals  was  that  all  the  mails  out  of  London 
should  be  despatched  at  the  same  hour.  This  the  clerks 
protested  against  as  impossible,  and  their  mutinous  beha- 
viour threatened  to  bring  the  establishment  to  a  deadlock, 
when  new  blood  was  imported  into  the  office  in  the  person  of 
Francis  Freeling,  son  of  a  journeyman  sugar-baker  on  Red- 


I 


1784.]  IN   THE    EIOHTSENTH   CKHTUSY.  459 

cliff  Hill,  who,  after  being  educated  at  Colston's  School,  had 
displayed  unusual  capacity  as  a  subordinate  member  of  the 
Bristol  postal  staflf.  JFreeling  soon  succeeded  in  accomplish- 
ing the  "impossible,"  and  was  eventually  rewarded  by  being 
raised  to  the  head  of  the  department.  In  the  meantime  the 
old-fashioned  officials  continued  to  conspire  against  Palmer's 
Ian,  and  must  have  been  nearly  successfiil  at  one  moment, 
or  in  February,  1786,  the  Bristol  Common  Council,  the 
Society  of  Mercnants,  and  the  trading  community  addressed 
memorials  to  the  Treasury,  representing  the  great  benefits 
derived  from  the  new  system,  and  praying  for  its  continu- 
ance and  extension.  The  financial  results  of  the  reform 
were  soon  so  satisfactory  as  to  secure  its  general  adoption. 
In  July,  1787,  the  mails  from  Bristol  to  Birmingham  and 
the  north,  previously  three  per  week,  were  ordered  to  run 
daily.  A  mail  coach  started  about  the  same  time  from 
London  to  Edinburgh,  being  only  three  nights  and  two  da5'8 
upon  the  road  (see  p.  309).  Lord  Campbell,  who  made  his 
first  visit  to  the  capital  by  this  conveyance,  states  in  his 
Diary  that  the  speed  of  the  journey  was  regarded  as  ex- 
tremely dangerous,  and  that  he  was  strongly  advised  to  stay 
a  day  at  York,  "  as  several  passengers  who  had  gone  througn 
without  stopping  had  died  of  apoplexy  from  the  rapidity  of 
the  motion."  Palmer  was  ultimately  driven  out  of  office 
by  his  implacable  enemies,  and  although  the  Ministry  had 
promised  him  a  commission  of  2^  per  cent,  on  the  increased 
revenue  that  might  be  produced  by  his  reform,  it  broke  its 
engagement,  and  awarded  him  a  fixed  pension  of  £3,000  a 
year,  being  only  a  small  fraction  of  his  rights.  After  fre- 
quently claiming  redress  from  the  House  of  Commons,  a 
grant  of  £60,000  was  voted  to  liim  in  1813,  about  five  years 
before  his  death. 

The  manufacture  of  lime  was  at  this  period  a  not  unim- 
portant local  industry.  A  correspondent  of  F.  Farley^s 
Journal^  commenting  in  August,  1784,  upon  a  case  tried  at 
the  assizes,  remarked  : — *'  There  have  been  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood for  upwards  of  26  years  past  upwards  of  28  lime- 
kilns, and  they  may  on  a  fair  calculation  have  been  reckoned 
to  draw  on  an  average  240  bushels  a  week  each,"  making  the 
yearly  output  nearly  360,000  bushels.  About  one  third  of 
the  total  was  exported  to  the  West  Indies. 

Although  large  sums  had  been  expended  from  time  to  time 
in  repairing  old  Christ  Church,  the  edifice  was  condemned 
in  1784  as  hopelessly  ruinous.  The  vestry,  which  had  to 
face  the  task  of  raising  funds  for  a  complete  reconstruction, 


460  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1784. 

showed  considerable  tact  in  easing  the  shoulders  of  those 
chiefly  concerned,  by  claiming  general  help  towards  carrying 
out  an  important  public  improvement.  Their  appeal  for 
assistance  opened  as  follows  : — "  Many  accidents  having 
happened,  and  great  inconveniences  being  daily  experienced 
from  the  narrowness  of  the  upper  parts  of  Broad  Street  and 
Wine  Street,  the  latter  of  which  is  only  17  feet  in  breadth," 
etc.  The  south  and  west  walls  of  the  church,  in  fact,  were 
covered  with  excrescences  in  the  shape  of  houses  and  sheds  ; 
and  the  vestry  offered  to  surrender  some  of  the  projections 
on  being  liberally  compensated  for  the  loss.  In  December 
the  Common  Council  promised  to  contribute  £1,600  towards 
rebuilding  the  church,  provided  the  parish  undertook  to 
widen  the  two  streets  in  the  manner  proposed.  The  Society 
of  Merchants  subscribed  £600  and  the  Tailors'  Company 
£100  on  the  same  condition.  The  old  church  was  a  common- 
place building,  and  possessed  no  exterior  feature  of  interest 
save  two  figures  placed  near  the  clock,  which  struck  the 
quarter  hours  upon  a  bell.  An  Act  authorising  its  rebuild- 
ing, at  an  estimated  6ost  of  £4,200,  of  which  about  one  half 
was  to  be  raised  by  church-rates,  was  obtained  in  1 786 ;  and 
the  edifice  was  soon  after  removed.  Southey,  whose  dwell- 
ing was  close  to  the  church,  stated  long  afterwards  that 
"  sad  things  were  said  of  the  indecencies  that  occurred  in 
removing  the  coffins,  for  the  new  foundations  to  be  laid." 
Some  of  the  old  monuments,  however,  were  preserved.  The 
ibundation  stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  on  the  30th 
October,  1786,  when  Southey  (then  12  years  old),  whose 
father  was  a  churchwarden,  deposited  a  few  copper  coins, 
amidst  the  indulgent  smiles  of  the  civic  dignitaries.  Barrett, 
whose  history  was  being  prepared  for  the  press  whilst  the 
building  was  in  hand,  extolled  the  preposterous  spire  as 
"  beautiful,'*  and  described  the  whole  edifice  as  "  a  great 
ornament  to  the  city." 

A  movement  for  the  promotion  of  Sunday  schools  became 
general  in  1784,  and  found  warm  patrons  in  Bristol.  At  a 
meeting  held  on  the  17th  November,  Henry  Hobhouse  pre- 
siding, it  was  resolved  to  divide  the  city  and  suburbs  into 
ten  districts,  local  committees  being  desired  to  superintend 
the  work.  A  few  weeks  later  it  was  reported  that  the  vestry 
of  St.  Nicholas  refused  to  co-operate.  Four  parochial  schools 
were,  however,  soon  after  established,  and  their  success  led 
to  the  general  adoption  of  the  system. 

A  glimpse  of  the  costume  of  youthful  citizens  is  afforded 
by  a  censorious  writer  in  Felix  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  the  20th 


1784.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  461 

November.  He  states  that  he  remembers  when  apprentices 
and  attorneys'  clerks  were  accustomed  to  dress  in  plain 
clothes.  '^  But  now,  gold  laced  waistcoats,  ruffled  shirts,  and 
silk  stockings  are  become  the  ordinary  wear  of  every  shop- 
boy  in  the  city."  The  critic  is  silent  respecting  juvenile 
wigs ;  but  no  doubt  he  compounded  for  his  own  weaknesses 
by  condemning  those  of  others. 

The  Common  Council  gave  orders  in  December,  1784,  that 
the  mayor's  and  sheriffs'  sergeants,  the  sheriffs'  yeomen,  and 
the  mayor's  marshals  (fourteen  in  all)  should  thenceforth 
provide  themselves  yearly  with  new  uniforms.  The  Cor- 
poration undertook  to  furnish  them  with  silver-laced  hats. 
In  1789  the  garments  were  ordered  to  be  paid  for  by  the 
chamberlain.  But  in  1790  it  was  again  determined  that  the 
officers  should  provide  their  own  clothes  (blue  coat,  red 
waistcoat,  and  black  velvet  breeches),  an  allowance  of  £2 
being  granted  to  each. 

During  the  year  1784  some  local  interest  was  excited  by 
the  poetic  effusions  of  a  woman  named  Anne  Yearsley,  who 
earned  a  scanty  living  by  retailing  milk.  One  of  her  poems 
having  been  brought  under  the  notice  of  Hannah  More,  that 
lady  made  inquiries,  the  results  of  which  were  communicated 
on  the  20th  October  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Montagu.  Anne 
Yearsley,  she  said,  was  28  years  old,  the  daughter  of  an  old 
milk\voman,  and  had  herself  followed  that  calling  from  child- 
hood ;  she  had  never  received  any  schooling,  but  her  brother 
had  taught  her  to  read.  Having  been  married  very  young 
to  a  labourer,  she  had  six  children,  and  had  been  reduced  to 
extreme  distress  in  consequence  of  repeated  misfortunes.  In 
fact,  the  family  were  on  the  point  of  starvation,  for  they  had 
concealed  their  misery,  when  a  gentleman  accidentally  heard 
of  their  destitution,  and  afforded  them  relief.  Miss  More  was 
struck  with  the  simplicity  of  manners  and  good  taste  of  the 
poor  woman ;  and,  in  concert  with  Mrs.  Montagu  and  her 
extensive  literary  circle,  she  resolved  to  "  bring  to  light  a 
genius  buried  in  obscurity  "  by  publishing  by  subscription  a 
quarto  volume  of  the  milkwoman's  poems.  Through  the 
exertions  of  Miss  More,  who  afterwards  declared  that  she  had 
written  a  thousand  pages  of  letters  on  the  subject,  upwards 
of  £bOO  were  obtained  for  the  authoress,  part  of  which  sum 
was  applied  to  paying  off  debts  and  restoring  comfort  to  the 
family,  while  the  remainder  was  invested  by  Miss  More  and 
Mrs.  Montagu,  who  were  constituted  trustees,  with  power  of 
control  over  the  interest.  One  of  Hannah  More's  biographers 
asserts  that  upon  Anne  Yearsley  being  made  acquainted  with 


462  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1784-85. 

this  arrangement,  she  charged  her  benefactress  with  envy 
and  covetousness,  and  flung  a  sum  of  ten  guineas,  the  balance 
of  the  fund,  at  that  lady's  head.  The  latter  assertion  was 
warmly  contradicted  by  the  accused  in  a  later  edition  of  her 
works,  in  which  she  reflected  bitterly  on  her  patroness.  She 
refused,  in  short,  to  be  kept  in  the  tutelage  which  the  trus- 
tees sought  to  impose  upon  her ;  and,  with  many  exclama- 
tions on  her  inojratitude,  they  paid  her  the  amount  placed  in 
their  hands.  With  this  money  Mrs.  Yearsley  set  up  a  circu- 
lating library  at  the  Colonnade,  near  the  Hot  Well,  where  she 
published  a  second  volume  of  poems  in  1787.  In  1789,  her 
"  historical  play,  Earl  Goodwin,"  was  performed  for  four 
nights  at  the  theatre,  the  proceeds  of  one  evening  being  paid 
to  the  author.  A  novel,  "  The  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask," 
brought  her  in  a  further  sum  of  £200.  Being  unsuccessful 
in  business,  she  removed  to  Melksham,  where  she  died,  in- 
sane, in  1806. 

Undeterred  by  the  failure  of  their  predecessors  in  1712, 
the  clergy  of  the  city  parishes,  in  January,  1785,  determined 
on  making  a  fresh  application  to  Parliament  for  power  to  in- 
crease their  incomes  by  imposing  a  rate  upon  the  inhabitants. 
The  intention  of  the  promoters  was  to  keep  the  project  a 
secret  whilst  their  Bill  was  being  pressed  forward  at  West- 
minster ;  but  Dean  Tucker,  rector  of  St.  Stephen's,  was 
opposed  to  the  scheme,  and  covered  his  colleagues  with  con- 
fusion by  divulging  their  tactics.  The  indignation  excited 
by  the  discovery  led  to  the  immediate  retreat  of  the  clergy; 
but  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  on  the  24th 
February  "  to  perpetuate  the  feeling  of  the  city.'* 

In  Bonner^ 8  Bristol  Journal  of  January  8th,  1786,  is  a 
communication  from  an  old  Bristolian  professing  to  specify 
the  fortunes  left  by  eminent  local  merchants  and  traders 
deceased  **  within  these  fifty  years,  who  had  but  small  be- 
ginnings, but  died  rich."  Although  the  figures  were  pro- 
bably founded  only  on  the  gossip  of  the  Exchange,  they 
clearly  denote  a  remarkable  period  of  prosperity.  William 
Miller,  grocer  and  banker,  is  entitled  to  the  first  place  on 
the  golden  roll,  his  estate  being  valued  at  £190,000.  Next 
follow  John  Brickdale  and  Zachary  Bayley,  with  £100,000 
each,  John  Andrews,  with  £90,000,  and  David  Peloquin. 
with  £80,000.  Joseph  Percival,  Henry  Hobhouse,  Michael 
Atkins,  Jeremiah  Ames,  and  Gough  and  Burgess,  drapers, 
are  credited  with  £70,000  each ;  Henry  Combe,  Henry 
Tonge,  John  Lidderdale,  and  Henry  Bright,  with  £60,000 
each;  John  Turner,   Thomas  Foord,  James  Reed,   James 


1785.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  463 

Calwell,  Stephen  Nash,  Thomas  Evans,  L.  Richard,  and 
R.  Chamberlayne,  £40,000  each ;  John  Curtis  and  John 
Collet,  £35,030  each  ;  and  WilUam  Matthews,  James  Hil- 
house,  Walter  Loghan,  William  Jefferis,  Wm.  Gordon, 
Rich.  Meyler,  Joseph  Loscombe,  Manassah  Whitehead, 
Sydenham  Teast,  R.  Frampton,  P.  Wilder,  and  Richard 
Blake,  £30,000  each. 

The  repugnance  of  the  Puritans  to  ecclesiastical  fasts  and 
festivals  affected  national  customs  long  after  Puritanism  it- 
self was  repudiated.  Down  to  about  1780,  Good  Friday 
appears  to  have  been  as  little  regarded  by  the  trading  classes 
as  Ascension  Day  is  by  the  present  generation.  A  move- 
ment, however,  sprang  up  in  London  to  promote  the  re- 
ligious observance  of  the  great  fast,  and  the  Bristol  Journal 
of  March  19th,  1785,  shows  that  the  agitation  had  spread 
westward : — "  It  is  humbly  requested  that  every  shop  and 
warehouse  will  be  closed  on  Good  Friday  next.  It  has  been 
too  generally  observed  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  are 
more  regardless  of  that  day  than  in  any  other  part  of 
England.  However,  it  is  never  too  late  to  reform.^'  The 
revived  custom  gradually  became  general,  Quakers  alone 
refusing  to  recognise  it.  In  1798,  Bristolians  are  recorded 
to  have  observed  the  day  with  "  great  and  rather  unusual 
solemnity,"  while  in  ISiDO,  says  Felix  Farley^s  Journal^ 
**  business  appeared  to  be  more  universally  suspended  than 
we  recollect  it  ever  to  have  been  on  this  occasion.'* 

Advertisements  announcing  that  a  new  lessee  was  wanted 
for  the  Hot  Well  and  the  New  Hot  Well  had  appeared  during 
the  closing  months  of  1784,  but  without  success.  On  the 
6th  March,  1785,  the  Merchants'  Society  issued  a  fresh 
notice,  intimating  that  they  proposed  to  let  both  the  springs 
for  a  term  of  from  40  to  60  years,  the  precise  period  to  de- 

f)end  on  the  amount  which  the  lessee  would  undertake  to 
ay  out  in  improvements.  The  Society  required  £1,000  to 
be  spent  in  rearing  a  quay  wall,  and  £600  in  fencing  the 
old  spring  from  the  tide  ;  and  they  further  desired  that  the 
pump-room  should  be  made  more  commodious  for  visitors. 
This  proposal  falling  still-bom,  the  springs  were  again  fruit- 
lessly offered  to  be  let  by  auction.  At  length,  on  the  1st 
June,  Thomas  Perkins  was  appointed  by  the  Society  as 
caretaker  for  five  years,  and  extensive  repairs  and  improve- 
ments were  soon  after  commenced  at  tne  Old  Well.  To 
insure  the  genuineness  of  the  water,  which  was  exported  in 
large  quantities,  the  Society  had  a  seal  engraved,  bearing 
their  arms  and  the  words  "  Bristol  Hot  Well,"  and  this  was 


464  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1785. 

impressed  upon  every  bottle.   The  New  Well  was  abandoned 
(see  p.  265).  • 

The  success  of  the  two  Frenchmen  named  Montgolfier  in 
constructing  balloons  caused  a  prodigious  excitement  in 
England.  In  January,  1784,  a  small  balloon,  similar  to  the 
toys  of  the  present  day,  was  launched  at  Bath,  and  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  public  it  travelled  a  distance  of  nearly 
ten  miles,  descending  at  a  spot  in  Kingswood  which  still 
bears  the  name  of  Air  Balloon  Hill.  The  first  ascent  of  an 
aeronaut  in  this  country  took  place  in  September,  1784,  in 
London.  A  few  months  later  a  Mr.  Decker  announced  his 
intention  to  ascend  at  Bristol,  provided  tickets  were  taken 
to  the  amount  of  £160,  the  cost  of  hydrogen  gas,  etc.,  and  his 
feat  was  eventually  performed  on  the  19th  April,  1786,  from 
a  field  in  St.  Philip's.  A  correspondent  of  a  London  period- 
ical stated  that  "  the  county  of  Somerset  and  all  the  parts 
adjacent  seemed  to  be  emptied  of  their  inhabitants  into  this 
city,  which  perhaps  never  exhibited  so  incredible  a  con- 
course of  people.  [Another  writer  says  that  some  persons 
travelled  sixty  miles  to  witness  the  sight.]  Two  guineas  for 
a  horse  and  three  for  a  chaise  were  offered  at  Bath  for  12 
miles  conveyance ;  and  the  best  of  the  joke  was  that  the 
thousands  who  marched  hither  from  Bath  marched  back 
again  with  like  rapidity,  as  the  balloon  bent  its  way  to  Lans- 
down."  The  balloon  descended  near  Chippenham,  the 
journey  being  completed  in  what  was  thought  the  marvel- 
lously short  space  of  67  minutes.  On  the  aeronaut  returning 
to  Bristol,  his  carriage  was  dragged  through  the  streets  by 
the  enthusiastic  populace.  For  some  time  after  balloons 
were  the  rage  of  the  day ;  they  were  figured  on  crockery, 
glasses,  handkerchiefs,  fans,  head  dresses,  clock-faces,  and 
copper  tokens  ;  and  John  Weeks,  of  the  Bush,  started  a 
"  balloon  coach  ''  to  London. 

The  local  newspapers  of  the  30th  April,  1785,  contain  a 
notification  by  the  poor  law  guardians,  complaining  that 
many  "  housekeepers ''  lodged  and  entertained  strangers, 
who  ultimately  claimed  relief  as  paupers,  and  giving  notice 
that  no  strangers  would  be  permitted  to  lodge  for  the  future 
unless  their  places  of  settlement  were  first  communicated  to 
the  authorities.  The  penalty  for  refusing  compliance  with 
tliis  warning  was  AOs,  From  an  explanatory  note  appended 
to  the  document,  it  appears  that  the  *'  amazing  increase  of 
the  poor  rate  ''  had  roused  the  board  into  action.  The  charge 
for  the  poor  had  grown  from  £6,842  in  1763  to  £16,648  m 
1783,  and  unless  strangers   were   prevented   from  renting 


1785.]  IN   THE    BIQHTBBNTH   CBNTUET.  465 

houses,  and  so  securing  settlements,  it  was  alleged  that  the 
evil  could  not  be  remedied.  Country  overseers,  it  was  added, 
frequently  bribed  poor  families  to  enter  Bristol,  and  some- 
times rented  houses  for  them  in  the  city,  in  order  to  secure 
a  settlement.  The  notice  having  failed  to  answer  its 
purpose,  a  more  peremptory  advertisement  was  published  in 
September,  in  which  a  reward  of  five  shillings  was  offered 
to  any  one  giving  information  respecting  those  who  har- 
boured strangers.  The  guardians  next  resorted  to  corporal 
punishment.  On  the  30th  November,  eight  men  and  six 
women,  chiefly  from  the  suburban  parishes  (one  from  the 
out- parish  of  St.  Philip),  "  were  flogged,  and  sent  home  by  a 
pass  "  ;  five  other  men  were  "  flogged,  seen  out  of  the  city, 
and  ordered  never  to  return,"  and  five  women  and  two  men, 
who  had  gained  settlements,  were  "  flogged  and  discharged.'' 
A  woman  from  St.  Philip's  out-district,  on  promising  never 
to  enter  the  city  again,  was  dismissed,  as  were  several  who 
pleaded  illness.  These  high-handed  proceedings  were  con- 
tinued weekly  for  some  time. 

During  the  session  of  1785  a  duty  on  female  servants  and 
a  tax  on  shops  were  proposed  in  the  Budget,  and  received 
assent  in  despite  of  the  petitions  of  the  trading  classes.  The 
impost  on  shops  (10  per  cent,  on  rentals  of  £25  and  upwards) 
came  into  operation  on  the  6th  July,  on  which  day  nearly 
every  shopkeeper  in  Bristol  closed  his  place  of  business,  and 
surrounded  its  doors  and  windows  with  emblems  of  mourn- 
ing. Many  inscriptions  were  also  exhibited  condemning  the 
conduct  of  Mr.  Pitt  (whose  effigy,  in  many  towns,  was 
hanged  and  burnt).  The  bells  of  the  various  parish  churches 
rang  muffled  peals  throughout  the  day.  As  an  illustration 
of  the  fiscal  system  then  in  favour,  a  local  newspaper  stated 
that  a  village  shopkeeper,  whose  returns  did  not  exceed  40*. 
per  week,  paid  a  license  duty  to  deal  in  hats,  a  second  for 
retailing  tea,  a  third  for  selling  patent  medicines,  a  fourth 
for  keeping  a  horse,  and  a  fifth  for  a  cart ;  "his  little  hut  is 
now  assessed  to  the  shop  tax."  The  tax  was  reduced  in  the 
following  year.  In  1787  the  product  of  the  burden  was  only 
£108,0a),  of  which  London  paid  £42,000,  Bristol  and  Bath 
£1,C)00,  and  the  entire  kingdom  of  Scotland  £800.  The  duty 
was  abolished  in  1789. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor  and  aldermen  in  August,  1786, 
the  county  of  Gloucester  was  granted  a  piece  of  land  in 
Wells  Close,  near  Lawford's  Gate,  for  the  site  of  a  new 
county  house  of  correction,  in  consideration  of  the  surrender 
of  the  old  Bridewell  (see  p.  112).     Powers  for  constructing 

H   H 


466  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1785-86. 

the  new  prison  had  been  comprised  in  the  Gloucester  Gaol 
Act  of  1784.  Howard  noted  in  1787  that  the  architect  of 
the  new  building  was  "  the  ingenious  Mr.  Blackburn."  It 
was  finished  and  opened  in  1790.  A  writer  in  Felix  Farlev^s 
Journal  of  Dec.  2nd,  1826,  describes  it  as  "  a  vile  doghole, 
without  Ught  or  air.*'  It  was  destroyed  in  1831  (see  Annals, 
p.  161). 

The  Nassau  frigate,  pierced  for  64  guns,  one  of  the  largest 
vessels  ever  built  on  the  Avon,  was  launched  from  Mr.  Hil- 
house's  yard  on  the  20th  September,  1786.  Amongst  the 
crowds  gathered  to  witness  the  ceremony  were  great 
numbers  of  "  peasants,  with  red  cloaks  " — then  very  popular 
in  the  rural  districts.  "Three  Irish  bishops** — visitors  at 
the  Hot  Well — were  also  present  at  the  launch. 

In  the  session  of  1786,  the  Bristol  Bridge  trustees,  in 
despite  of  the  opposition  of  a  number  of  citizens,  obtained 
an  Act  for  making  a  new  street  from  Bridge  Parade  to  the 
bottom  of  Temple  Street,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £12,000. 
The  new  thoroughfare  (Bath  Street)  ran  for  the  most  part 
over  the  site  of  the  ancient  Tucker  Street — one  fragment  of 
which  still  remains  to  attest  its  narrow  and  sinuous  char- 
acter. Tucker  Street  Chapel  was  swept  away  under  the 
powers  of  this  Act,  which  also  enabled  the  trustees  to  de- 
molish Temple  Cross,  and  to  remove  from  the  centre  of 
Temple  Street  to  another  site  the  figure  of  Neptune  and  the 
fountain  on  which  it  was  placed.  The  last  named  change 
took  place  in  December,  1787,  when  the  fountain  and  figure 
were  erected  at  the  comer  of  Bear  Lane.  The  site,  now 
occupied  by  an  extension  of  Dr.  White's  almshouse,  cost 
the  trustees  £46.  The  Cross,  which  had  been  used  as  a 
preaching  cross  by  the  vicar  of  Temple  down  to  the  close 
of  the  previous  century,  and  perhaps  later  (Tucker's  MS.), 
but  had  been  in  1775  converted  into  a  '*  commodious  watch- 
box,"  was  suffered  to  remain  for  some  years  ;  but  in  January, 
1794,  the  trustees  ordered  that  it  should  be  taken  down. 
Private  expostulation  was  probably  the  cause  of  delay  in 
carrying  out  this  destruction.  The  Cross — the  last  of  many 
Bristol  Crosses — was  eventually  removed  in  a  quasi-surrep- 
titious manner  during  the  night  of  the  13th  August  follow- 
ing. The  above  statute  repealed  the  clause  in  the  Bridge 
Act  requiring  the  trustees  to  build  a  bridge  over  the  Avon, 
to  connect  Dolphin  Lane  with  Temple  Street. 

The  condition  of  the  streets,  described  as  *'  ruinous  and 
dangerous**  by  two  local  journals  in  November,  1786,  at 
length  forced  itself  on  the  attention  of  the  corporate  body. 


1786.]  IN  THB  BIGHTEBNTH  CENTURY.  467 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  in  February,  1786,  a  committee 
that  had  been  previously  appointed  to  consider  the  defects 
in  the  paving  and  lighting  regulations  reported  that  the 
existing  laws  were  feeble  and  inadequate,  and  that  it  was 
desirable  to  obtain  legislative  powers  for  confiding  the 
maintenance  and  lighting  of  the  streets  to  a  body  of  com- 
missioners. Statutory  powers  were  also  alleged  to  be 
necessary  for  the  removal  of  houses  obstructing  the  streets, 
for  preventing  losses  through  fire  by  means  of  party  walls, 
for  erecting  proper  offices  for  public  business,  and  for  regu- 
lating hackney  coaches.  Measures  were  thereupon  taken 
for  obtaining  an  Act.  The  Corporation  proposed  that  the 
commissioners  should  consist  of  the  whole  of  the  aldermen 
and  councillors,  with  an  equal  number  (43)  of  persons  elected 
by  such  of  the  citizens  as  were  rated  at  or  above  £20  a  year. 
The  elected  commissioners  were  each  to  be  owners  of  pro- 
perty t^  the  value  of  £300  per  annum.  The  oligarchic 
character  of  the  scheme  excited  disapproval,  and  delegates 
were  appointed  by  the  ratepayers  in  the  various  parishes  to 
press  for  modifications.  Some  trifling  concessions  were 
thereupon  offered ;  but  the  request  of  the  delegates  that 
the  number  of  corporate  commissioners  should  be  reduced 
one  third  was  rejected,  and  the  Bill  was  postponed  for  a 
year.  In  1787  the  controversy  was  renewed,  the  inhabitants 
manifesting  great  want  of  confidence  in  the  self-elected 
corporators,  while  the  latter  haughtily  refused  to  abate 
their  pretensions.  The  request  of  a  public  meeting  that  the 
elected  commissioners  should  be  increased  to  60  having  been 
rejected  by  the  Council,  the  inhabitants  resolved  to  lay  their 
case  before  Parliament.  The  Corporation  thereupon  with- 
drew the  Bill  a  second  time.  At  length,  in  1788,  when  the 
opposition  of  the  citizens  £o  the  measure  was  again  displayed, 
the  Chamber  abandoned  its  proposals  in  reference  to  paving 
and  lighting.  Its  schemes  dealing  with  encroachments, 
licensing  public  carriages,  regulating  party  walls,  widening 
Broad  Street,  and  enlarging  the  Council  House  and  Guild- 
hall were  embodied  in  throe  Bills,  which  passed  into  law 
without  opposition.  (The  Corporation  had  spent  nearly 
£1,60(^  in  its  Parliamentary  campaign.)  The  police  of  the 
streets  thus  remained  unimproved. 

For  reasons  explained  at  page  181,  many  of  the  incor- 
porated trading  companies  suently  disappeared  during  the 
closing  years  oi  the  century.  The  Coopers'  Hall  was  onerel 
for  sale  bv  auction  in  February,  1786.  In  January,  1786, 
a  similar  rate  befell  the  extensive  premises — part  of  the  old 


468  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  ,  [1786. 

Dominican  Friary — belonging  to  the  Smiths'  Company. 
The  estate  consisted  of  "  a  very  large  new-built  warehouse, 
with  two  lofts,  three  stables,  an  accounting  house,  a  large 
yard,  100  feet  by  80  feet,  and  the  erection  called  the  Smiths' 
Hall,  a  spacious  building,"  the  whole  being  held  for  999 
years  at  a  rental  of  £3.  The  hall,  a  medieval  building 
supposed  to  have  been  the  dormitory  of  the  friars,  was  pur- 
chased in  1846  by  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  has  been 
carefully  preserved.  The  Bakers*  Hall  was  also  in  the 
Black  Friars,  the  company  having  been  granted  a  portion  of 
the  cloisters.     It  now  forms  part  of  the  Friends'  premises. 

On  the  1st  February,  1786,  a  banking  house,  styled  the 
New  Bank,  was  opened  at  No.  16,  Corn  Street,  by  Messrs. 
Levi  Ames,  John  Cave,  Joseph  Harford,  George  Daubeny, 
and  Richard  Bright,  the  first  and  last-named  of  whom  had 
been  previously  partners  in  the  "  Bristol  Bank  "  of  Deane, 
Whitehead,  and  Company,  Small  Street.  A  few  years  later, 
the  partners  in  the  New  Bank  were  Messrs.  Ames,  Bright, 
Cave,  and  Daniel.  At  length,  in  June,  1826,  the  "  Old 
Bank  "  coalesced  with  the  junior  institution. 

A  letter  in  Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  February  18th,  1786, 
contains  some  instructive  facts  concerning  the  spiritual  con- 
dition of  several  of  the  Somerset  parishes  in  this  neighbour- 
hood. The  writer,  the  Rev.  W.  Baddily,  ex-curate  of 
Clevedon,  stated  that  he  had  frequently  but  vainly  repre- 
sented to  the  Bishop  (Dr.  Moss)  the  state  of  many  of  the 
adjacent  parishes.  Mr.  Goddard,  of  Long  Ashton,  held  two 
livings,  yet  drove  a  ^*  scandalous  trade  by  preaching  at 
Wraxall,  Bourton,  and  Barrow,  at  the  same  time  living 
among  none  of  them."  The  poor  inhabitants  of  Nailsea 
were  "  obliged  to  go  eight  or  nine  miles  through  rain,  frost, 
or  snow,  to  a  curate  at  Chew  Stoke  to  bury  their  dead.  The 
incumbent,  one  Sinipkinson,  never  comes  near  the  parish 
but  once  a  year,  to  receive  the  farmers'  money."  Bishop 
Moss  had  dismissed  the  writer  from  his  curacy  for  exposing 
these  abuses.  The  condition  of  the  above  parishes  was  by 
no  means  exceptional.  Hannah  More,  writing  to  a  friend 
from  Cowslip  Green  in  1789,  says : — "  We  have  in  this 
neighbourhood  thirteen  adjoining  parishes,  without  so  much 
as  even  a  resident  curate."  Again,  "Mr.  G.  (incumbent  of 
Axbridge)  is  intoxicated  about  six  times  a  week,  and  very 
frequently  is  prevented  from  preaching  by  two  black  eyes, 
honestly  earned  by  fighting."  As  the  labouring  population 
of  Bristol  was  largely  recruited  from  the  neglected  districts, 
the  above  facts  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  out  of  place. 


1786.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY,  469 

The  criminal  law  at  this  period  well  deserved  the  title  of 
draconian.  After  the  spring  assizes  of  1786  no  less  than 
nineteen  criminals  were  executed  in  Gloucestershire  and 
Somerset.  There  was  no  conviction  for  murder  in  either 
county,  but  many  for  highway  robberies,  some  of  which 
occurred  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bristol.  Two  of  the 
Gloucestershire  convicts,  named  Fry  and  Ward,  lived  in 
that  portion  of  Kingswood  included  in  the  parish  of  Bitton, 
and  raised  to  ten  the  number  of  criminals  from  that  district 
executed  within  three  years.  The  gang  to  which  they 
belonged,  said  the  BriMol  Gazette^  of  April  23rd,  kept  the 
neighbourhood  in  such  dread  that  the  inhabitants  consented 
to  pay  a  yearly  fee  to  save  themselves  from  being  robbed. 
The  blackmail  varied  from  bs.  to  half  a  guinea,  according  to 
the  position  of  the  victims,  and  was  regularly  and  openly 
collected  at  Lansdown  fair. 

One  of  the  greatest  cock-fighting  tournaments  ever  held 
in  Bristol  took  place  at  the  Angel  inn  cockpit,  RedclifF,  in 
April,  1786.  The  contest  was  waged  between  the  gentry  of 
Gloucestershire  and  those  of  Dorset.  The  stakes  were  £350, 
and  the  betting  was  proportionably  heavy.  Another 
**  main,"  between  Devon  and  Gloucestershire,  took  place  at 
Temple  Back,  in  July,  1794,  there  being  30  battles  at  4 
guineas  each,  and  a  final  one  for  60  guineas. 

The  freedom  was  presented,  in  May,  to  the  Hon.  George 
C.  Berkeley  for  "  his  great  attention  to  the  Act  lately  passed 
for  regulating  the  Newfoundland  fishery,  in  which  the 
commercial  interest  of  this  city  is  materially  concerned." 

In  deference  to  the  suggestions  of  the  fashionable  visitors 
to  the  Hot  Well,  who  were  inconvenienced  by  the  want  of  a 
covered  promenade  in  inclement  weather,  the  erection  of  a 
**  Colonnade  "  near  the  pump-room  was  commenced  in  the 
spring  of  1786,  and  the  double  row  of  trees  along  the  bank 
of  the  Avon  was  considerably  lengthened.  A  protected 
walk  of  some  kind  had  existed  previously.  A  tradesman,  in 
May,  1760,  advertised  that  his  warehouse  was  "  under  the 
Piazzas,  near  the  Pump  Room." 

Great  difficulties  arose  after  the  loss  of  the  American 
colonies  in  reference  to  the  transportation  of  condemned 
felons.  In  October,  1786,  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  taking 
into  consideration  that  two  women  had  been  immured  in 
Newgate  since  April,  1783,  from  want  of  opportunity  to 
carry  out  their  sentences  (seven  years'  transportation), 
resolved  to  recommend  the  Crown  to  pardon  them.  The 
first  deportation  of  local  felons  to  Botany  Bay  took  place  in 


470  tHS  AHNAL8  OF  BBISIDL  [1786. 

the  spring  of  1787.  One  of  the  convicts  had  been  sentenced 
to  death  for  robbery  a  few  years  before,  but  had  been  par- 
doned on  volunteering  to  serve  in  the  army.  Having 
forthwith  deserted,  he  was  known  to  have  committed  forty- 
two  burglaries  in  and  near  the  parish  of  St.  James  before  he 
was  captured  and  tried  for  a  similar  crime  in  Gloucester- 
shire. The  new  transportation  system  was  more  costly  than 
its  predecessor.  In  the  civic  accounts  is  the  following  item: 
— 1789,  June  27th,  "  Paid  Daniel  Burges,  what  he  advanced 
in  London  to  pay  the  passage  of  9  female  convicts  to 
New  South  Wales,  and  his  law  charges  thereon,  £83  Is.  6rf." 
Four  days  later  is  the  extraordinary  entry : — "  Paid  for 
conveying  a  convict  on  board  a  ship  in  Kingroad  bound  to 
Ireland,  lbs.  6d." 

A  congratulatory  address  to  the  King,  on  his  escape  from 
the  knife  of  a  lunatic,  was  voted  by  the  Corporation  in 
August,  1786.  A  small  deputation  proceeded  to  London  to 
present  the  document,  and  was  paid  £79  18s.  8d.  for  its 
expenses.  Mr.  Stephen  Nash,  one  of  the  sheriffs,  was 
knighted  on  this  occasion.  Mr.  Nash  was  a  woollen  draper, 
but  had  been  educated  at  Oxford,  and  was  probably  the 
only  dignitary  of  the  Corporation  ever  honoured  with  the 
degree  of  LL.D. 

The  Weavers'  Company  in  1786  had  become  so  diminished 
in  numbers  that  they  ceased  to  maintain  a  hall.  The 
building  was  transferred  to  the  Jews,  who  decorated  it  in 
what  Mr.  Barrett  terms  "  a  neat  expensive  manner,^'  and 
opened  it  on  the  16th  September  as  a  synagogue. 

The  Council  House  erected  in  1704  (see  p.  69)  had  been 
condemned  some  years  before  this  date  owing  to  the  scanti- 
ness of  its  accommodation,  but  the  authorities  were  long 
unwilling  to  face  the  main  difficulty  attending  the  work  of 
reconstruction.  The  church  of  St.  Ewen,  of  which  the 
south  aisle  had  been  already  absorbed  in  the  civic  buildings, 
stood  immediately  behind  them  ;  and  no  satisfactory  exten- 
sion could  be  effected  unless  the  edifice  were  swept  away. 
In  1784  the  aldermanic  body  had  treated  with  the  rector  for 
the  union  of  his  parish  with  that  of  Christ  Church  ;  but  the 
incumbent  seems  to  have  refused  his  assent.  In  November, 
1786,  the  living  became  vacant,  whereupon  it  was  deter- 
mined that  it  should  be  united  to  Christ  Church,  and  clauses 
legalising  the  junction,  and  permitting  the  demolition  of  St. 
Ewen's,  were  introduced  into  one  of  the  Acts  obtained  in 
1788.  The  Council  House  scheme  was  soon  afterwards 
shelved,  and  beyond  the  purchase  in  1795,  for  £1,337,  of  two 


1786-87.]  IN  THE   BIGHTKBNTH   CBNTUEY.  471 

adjoining  houses  in  Broad  Street,  belonging  to  the  vestry  of 
St.  Ewen's,  nothing  more  was  done  for  nearly  thirty  years. 

The  Council,  in  November,  1786,  empowered  the  city 
surveyors  to  remove  "  the  gateway  near  the  gaol  of  New- 
gate "  for  the  greater  convenience  of  traffic.  About  the 
same  date,  the  salary  of  the  gaoler  was  increased  from  £100 
to  £200,  in  compensation  for  the  loss  he  had  incurred  from 
a  new  Act  of  Parliament  forbidding  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  within  prisons.  The  gaoler's  lost  profits  denote  the 
dissipation  that  had  prevailed. 

A  new  item  in  the  chamberlain's  accounts  makes  its 
appearance  about  this  time.  As  usually  worded,  it  reads  : — 
"  Paid  sundry  coachmen  belonging  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
corporation  for  attending  with  their  masters'  carriages  on 
public  days."  The  amount  varied  considerably.  For  the 
six  months  ending  September,  1786,  the  charge  was  £17  12.f., 
while  in  a  similar  period  in  1789  the  outlay  was  £41  7«. 
The  wide  difference  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chamber  between 
dignity  and  utility  is  brought  Out  by  another  item.  High- 
way robberies  were  then  of  constant  occurrence.  After 
having  handsomely  "tipped  "  the  coachmen,  the  chamber- 
lain paid  two  guineas  each  to  two  men  "  for  parading  the 
roads  round  Bristol  to  prevent  robberies."  How  long  the 
paraders  were  on  duty  does  not  appear.  They  received  no 
further  reward. 

After  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Hardwicke  in  1764,  the 
office  of  Lord  High  Steward  of  Bristol  had  remained  vacant. 
On  the  2Dth  November,  1786,  it  was  conferred  upon  the  Duke 
of  Portland.  Soon  afterwards  his  grace  was  made  a  freeman 
of  the  city,  and  was  requested  to  pay  it  a  visit.  Accordingly, 
on  the  11th  April,  1787,  the  Duke  made  an  entry  in  great 
parade,  and  was  received  at  the  Mansion  House  (being  its 
tirst  distinguished  visitor)  by  the  mayor,  Mr.  Daubeny.  A 
grand  banquet  and  a  ball  took  place  at  the  civic  mansion, 
and  £360  were  afterwards  voted  to  the  mayor  for  the  extra 
expenditure  incurred. 

The  laying  out  of  Berkeley  Square,  in  1786,  gave  evidence 
that  some  wealthy  Bristolians  at  length  appreciated  the 
advantages  of  the  western  suburb.  The  square,  however, 
like  the  adjoining  Charlotte  Street,  commenced  soon  after- 
wards, remained  long  unfinished,  several  half-built  houses 
being  offered  for  sale  in  August,  1799. 

The  corn  market  between  Wine  and  Maryleport  Streets 
having  been  long  deserted,  the  Council  resolved  to  convert 
the  ground  floor  into  a  cheese  market,  and  it  was  opened  for 


472  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1787. 

that  purpose  on  the  3rd  January,  1787.  Cheese  tasting 
being  provocative  of  thirst,  the  Chamber  permitted  the 
landlord  of  the  Raven  alehouse,  in  Maryleport  Street,  to 
open  a  passage  from  his  house  into  the  market.  The  latter 
was  never  successful,  the  receipts  being  generally  insufficient 
to  meet  the  cost  of  collection  and  repairs.  The  upper  room 
of  the  building,  was.opened  as  a  school  in  July,  1793. 

The  extent  of  the  burial  ground  attached  to  Clifton 
Church  was  originally  proportionate  to  the  scanty  popu- 
lation of  the  parish.  As  the  residents  increased,  however, 
the  insufficiency  of  the  area  became  painfully  manifest,  and 
in  1779  the  vestry  applied  to  the  Society  of  Merchants  for 
the  grant  of  '*  a  piece  of  ground  at  the  foot  of  Honey  Pen 
Hill,"  adding  the  interesting  topographical  fact  that  the  site 
in  question  was  on  "  the  ancient  road  to  Clifton  before  the 
present  road  was  laid  out."  The  application  was  then  un- 
successful, but  the  demand  for  enlarged  accommodation  con- 
tinued to  be  urged  by  the  inhabitants,  who  alleged  that  the 
state  of  the  cemetery  was  dangerous  to  public  health.  (The 
number  of  burials  in   1783  was  55,   indicating  a  resident 

f)opulation  of  about  1,400.)  The  Merchants'  Company  at 
eiigth  conceded  the  above-mentioned  plot  of  ground — part 
of  the  site  of  an  extensive  quarry — and  in  1787  the  vestry 
took  measures  to  have  it  covered  with  earth,  properly  fenced, 
and  consecrated. 

In  March,  1787,  the  Bristol  Gazette  published  an  inter- 
esting communication  from  an  aged  citizen,  giving  an 
account  of  the  West  India  trade  of  the  port  in  the  first  half 
of  the  century,  from  the  recollections  of  the  writer  and  of 
friends  still  older  than  himself.  The  letter  states  that  many 
of  the  leading  merchants  had  resided  in  the  plantations,  for 
the  purpose  of  gaining  experience,  before  commencing 
business  in  Bristol.  About  1726,  for  example,  Harington 
Gibbs,  after  making  acquaintance  in  Jamaica  with  the 
great  planters,  ^*  Beckford,  Dawkins,  Pennant  (now  Lord 
Penryn),  Morant  and  others,"  returned  home  and  became 
their  Bristol  agent  for  the  sale  of  sugar.  This  house  was 
subsequentlv  carried  on  by  Mr.  Atkins,  and  then  by  his 
nephew,  John  Curtis,  both  of  whom  had  resided  in  Jamaica. 
About  1726,  Mr.  William  Gordon  returned  from  the  same 
island,  and  opened  the  house  "  which  was  afterwards  carried 
on  by  his  nephew,  the  late  alderman,  and  supported  by  the 
family,  all  of  whom  have  been  there."  Mr.  Davis  came 
from  Jamaica  in  1740,  and  set  up  the  firm  "  still  conducted 
by  his  son."     The  principal  tobacco  importers  about  1730  or 


1787.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  473 

1740  were  "  Alderman  King,  Mr.  Innys,  Mr.  Chamberlayne, 
and  Mr.  Farrell,  all  having  resided  in  Virginia ;  "  they  were 
succeeded  by  Lidderdale,  Farmer,  and  others,  "  who  had 
also  resided  there.''  "  The  principal  traders  to  Carolina 
were  Alderman  Jefferis  and  others  who  had  resided  there." 
"  About  1750,  Mr.  Bright,  who  had  resided  in  St.  Kitts  and 
Jamaica,  returned  from  the  latter,  and  opened  the  channel 
which  is  continued  by  his  family,  one  of  whom  also  resided 
in  Jamaica.  About  1760,  Mr.  Miles  returned  from  Jamaica, 
the  extent  of  whose  intercourse  is  well  known.  The  imports 
from  Barbadoes  are  principally  carried  on  by  Mr.  Daniel  and 
his  son,  who  have  resided  there."  From  the  writer's  re- 
marks he  apparently  attributed  the  declining  prosperity  of 
the  trade  to  the  unwillingness  of  young  men  to  follow  the 
example  of  their  forerunners.  How  rapidly  this  branch  of 
commerce  fell  off  will  be  shown  at  a  later  date.  Attention 
must  for  the  present  be  directed  to  incidents  destined  to 
inspire  the  commercial  classes  of  the  port  with  mingled 
astonishment  and  fury. 

One  evening  in  June,  1787,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Clarkson, 
who  had  resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  the  work  of  destroying 
the  slave  trade,  rode  into  Bristol  for  the  purpose  of  investi- 
gating the  evils  of  the  traffic.  On  coming  within  sight  of 
the  city,  just  as  the  curfew  was  sounding,  he  says  (History 
of  the  Abolition,  p.  293),  "  I  began  to  tremble  at  the  arduous 
task  I  had  undertaken  of  attempting  to  subvert  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  commerce  of  the  great  place  which  was  then 
before  me ;  *'  but  his  despondency  subsided,  and  he  entered 
the  streets  "  with  an  undaunted  spirit."  He  first  introduced 
himself  to  Mr.  Harry  Goady,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade,  but  had  repented,  and  become  a  Quaker.  The 
visitor  next  became  acquainted  with  James  Harford,  John 
Luiy,  Matthew  Wright,  Philip  Debell  Tuckett,  Thomas 
Bonville,  and  John  Waring,  all  zealous  sympathisers.  He 
subsequently  obtained  warm  assistance  from  Dean  Tucker — 
who  in  a  pamphlet  issued  in  1785  declared  that  the  number 
of  murders  committed  under  the  slave  trade  "almost  ex- 
ceeded the  power  of  numbers  to  ascertain*' — and  also  from 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Camplin ;  but  some  other  clergymen  were 
indifferent,  if  not  hostile.  (It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gk)spel,  having  had  two 
plantations  in  Barbadoes  bequeathed  to  it  in  1710  by 
Governor  Codrington,  a  Gloucestershire  man,  not  only 
maintained  the  system  of  slavery  upon  the  estates,  but, 
down  to  1793,  purchased  yearly  a  certain  number  of  fresh 


474  THB  ANNALS  Or  BBISTOL  [1787. 

negroes  from  the  importers  to  keep  up  the  original  stock  of 
300.  Edwards'  West  Indies,  ii.  36.)  In  conversing  about 
the  human  traffic  with  the  citizens  generally,  "  everybody 
seemed  to  execrate  it,  but  no  one  thought  of  its  abolition." 
It  was  admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  captains  and  officers 
of  the  slave  ships  were  noted  for  their  brutality,  and  that 
crews  could  be  obtained  only  with  extreme  difficulty.  In 
respect  to  the  ship  Brothers,  then  lying  in  Kingroad,  un- 
able to  get  seamen,  Clarkson  ascertained  that  the  sailors 
had  been  so  dreadfully  ill-treated  during  the  previous  voyage 
that  thirty-two  of  them  had  died.  As  to  one  of  the  sur- 
vivors, a  negro,  it  was  found  that  for  a  trifling  circumstance 
the  captain  *'  had  fastened  him  to  the  deck,  poured  hot  pitch 
upon  his  back,  and  made  incisions  in  it  with  hot  tongs." 
This  story  was  confirmed  by  Mr.  Sydenham  Teast,  one  of 
the  principal  shipbuilders  of  the  port.  It  was  next  dis- 
covered that  similar  barbarities  had  been  practised  by  the 
officers  of  the  slaver  Alfred,  which  had  just  returned  to 
Bristol,  and  Clarkson  obtained  shocking  testimony  from 
some  of  the  crew  as  to  the  cruelty  of  the  captain,  who  had 
been  previously  tried  for  murdering  a  sailor  at  Barbadoes, 
but  had  escaped  justice  by  bribing  the  principal  witness  to 
abscond — an  act  of  which  he  delighted  to  boast.  In  two  of 
the  Alfred  cases,  the  captain's  brutality  had  caused  the 
death  of  his  victims,  and  Clarkson,  with  a  view  to  a  prosecu- 
tion, communicated  with  Mr.  Burges,  then  deputy  town 
clerk,  who  had  privately  expressed  his  sympathy.  "  I  say 
privately"  adds  Clarkson,  ** because,  knowing  the  senti- 
ments of  many  of  the  corporate  body,  he  was  fearful  of 
coming  forward  in  an  open  manner."  Mr.  Burges's  advice 
was  that  no  prosecution  should  be  attempted.  The  wit- 
nesses, he  said,  could  not  affi^rd  to  stay  on  shore ;  it  would 
be  necessary  to  maintain  them  for  some  months  pending 
the  trial ;  in  the  meanwhile  the  merchants  would  inveigle 
them  away  by  offering  to  ship  them  as  petty  officers,  and 
when  the  hearing  came  on  they  would  have  disappeared. 
It  would  be  an  endless  task,  moreover,  to  deal  with  all  the 
charges  of  cruelty  that  were  reported,  for  Mr.  Burges  "only 
knew  of  one  captain  from  the  port  in  the  slave  trade  who 
did  not  deserve  long  ago  to  be  banged."  As  regards  the 
sentiments  of  the  shipowners,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the 
captains  of  the  Brothers  and  of  the  Alfred  were  maintained 
in  the  command  of  those  vessels  in  spite  of  atrocities  that 
were  the  common  talk  of  the  city.  Yielding  to  Mr.  Burgea's 
advice,  Clarkson  pursued  his  inquiry  in  a  new  direction— 


1787.]  IN  TBI   EIGHTEENTH   CENTUR7.  475 

the  manner  in  which  sailors  were  seduced  to  enter  into  the 
trade ;  and  as  three  or  four  slavers  were  then  preparing  for 
the  African  coaSt,  information  was  easily  obtained.  By  the 
help  of  a  respectable  innkeeper,  Clarkson  paid  numerous 
visits,  between  midnight  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to 
drinking  dens  frequented  by  seamen.  "  These  houses  were 
in  Marsh  Street,  and  most  of  them  were  kept  by  Irishmen. 
The  scenes  witnessed  were  truly  distressing.  Music,  danc- 
ing, rioting,  and  drunkenness  were  kept  up  from  night  to 
night.'*  The  mates  of  the  slavers  allured  the  young  sailor 
by  offering  high  wages  and  various  other  temptations,  and 
enticed  him  to  the  boats  kept  waiting  to  carry  recruits  to 
Hungroad.  If  he  could  not  be  caught  in  this  way,  he  was 
often  drugged  with  liquor  until  impotent  to  offer  resistance, 
when  a  bargain  was  made  between  the  landlord  and  the 
mate.  Sailors,  again,  often  lodged  in  these  sties,  where  they 
were  encouraged  to  run  into  debt,  and  then  offered  the 
alternative  of  a  slaving  voyage  or  a  gaol.  They  were  never 
permitted  to  read  the  articles  they  signed  on  entering  a 
ship,  and  by  the  insertion  in  those  documents  of  iniquitous 
clauses,  empowering  payments  in  colonial  currency,  etc., 
wages  in  the  slave  trade  (30«.  per  month),  though  nominally 
higher,  were  actually  lower  than  in  other  trades.  Clarkson 
found,  moreover,  on  examining  the  slavers'  muster  rolls, 
that  more  persons  died  "  in  three  slave  vessels  in  a  given 
time  than  in  all  the  other  Bristol  vessels  put  together, 
numerous  as  they  were."  As  to  the  conditions  of  the 
voyage  from  Africa,  an  idea  of  its  horror  may  be  formed 
from  Clarkson's  description  of  two  little  sloops  then  being 
fitted  out  in  the  Avon.  One  of  them,  of  the  burden  of  only 
25  tons,  was  to  carry  seventy  human  beings.  The  other,  of 
11  tons  burden,  "  was  said  to  be  destined  to  carry  thirty 
slaves."  The  sloops,  on  reaching  the  West  Indies,  were  to 
be  sold  as  yachts,  the  smaller  one  having  been  originally 
built  as  a  pleasure  boat,  for  the  accommodation  of  six 
persons.  In  both,  the  space  allotted  to  each  slave  was  so 
contracted  that  a  captive  could  not  have  stretched  at  full 
length  throughout  the  voyage.  Personal  testimony  respect- 
ing the  working  of  the  traffic  was  sought  for;  but  the 
retired  slaving  captains  avoided  Clarkson  "  as  if  I  had  been 
a  mad  dog,"  while  those  engaged  in  the  commerce  were 
silent  from  self-interest.  At  length,  evidence  was  forth- 
coming against  the  mate  of  the  ship  Thomas,  who  had 
killed  one  of  the  crew  by  brutal  ill-usage.  When  the 
offender  was  brought  up  for  examination,  "  one  or  two  slave 


476  THE   ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1787. 

merchants  were  on  the  bench,"  and  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
Brothers  and  the  Alfred  insolently  addressed  the  mayor 
before  the  evidence  was  taken,  declaring'  that  the  **  in- 
credible'' charge  had  been  "hatched  up  by  vagabonds." 
The  evidence  as  to  the  murder  was,  however,  clear,  and  the 
prisoner  was  committed  for  trial  before  the  Admiralty  Court. 
But  before  the  day  of  hearing,  Mr.  Burges's  warning  proved 
to  be  well  grounded ;  for  two  of  the  witnesses  had  been 
bribed  and  sent  to  sea.  Two  others,  who  had  resisted  temp- 
tation, were  working  in  a  Welsh  colliery  to  support  them- 
selves until  the  trial,  and  Clarkson,  going  in  search  of  them, 
nearly  lost  his  life  in  crossing  the  Severn  in  an  open  boat 
during  a  storm.  The  witnesses  were  found  at  Neath  and 
despatched  to  London,  but  the  guilty  mate  had  been  brought 
up  a  few  hours  before  their  arrival,  and  acquitted  through 
want  of  evidence.  The  time  character  of  the  traflSc  now 
began  to  affect  public  opinion,  and  in  1788  a  Bill  was 
brought  before  Parliament  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the 
negroes  during  their  passage  to  the  colonies  by  the  pre- 
vention of  overcrowding.  The  measure  was  vehemently 
opposed  by  the  African  merchants  in  London,  Bristol,  and 
Liverpool,  who  were  heard  by  counsel  and  witnesses  in  both 
Houses.  A  Liverpool  trader  declared  that  he  had  invested 
£30,000  in  the  traffic,  and  would  be  ruined  if  the  Bill  became 
law.  (Sir  James  Picton,  in  his  history  of  Liverpool,  esti- 
mated that  the  town  was  then  making  £300,000  a  year  by 
the  slave  trade.)  Another  witness,  a  ship  captain,  admitted 
that  he  had  lost  by  disease,  in  a  single  voyage,  16  seamen 
out  of  40,  and  120  out  of  360  slaves.  It  was  proved  that 
the  space  allotted  to  each  slave  during  the  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic  did  not  generally  exceed  6i  feet  in  length  by 
16  inches  in  breadth!  Mr.  Brickdale,  M.P.  for  Bristol, 
seconded  the  motion  for  rejecting  the  Bill,  but  the  opposition 
was  ineffectual,  and  the  measure  became  law.  The  pro- 
tracted debates  on  this  scheme,  provoked  by  the  merchants, 
intensified  the  public  horror,  it  having  been  proved  that 
74,000  unhappy  Africans  were  yearly  torn  from  their 
country ;  and  an  agitation  was  started  for  the  complete 
abolition  of  the  trade.  The  first  provincial  committee 
formed  to  further  this  result  was  instituted  at  Bristol,  Mr. 
Joseph  Harford  being  chairman,  and  Mr.  Peter  Lunell 
secretary.  Indignant  at  this  movement,  the  local  West 
India  planters  and  merchants  held  a  meeting  at  Merchants' 
Hall  in  April,  1789,  Mr.  William  Miles  presiding,  when  an 
influential  committee  was  appointed  to  defend  a  traffic  "  on 


1787.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  477 

which  the  welfare  of  the  West  India  islands  and  the  com- 
merce and  revenue  of  the  kingdom  so  essentially  depend.*' 
Amongst  the  members  of  this  committee,  comprising  a 
majority  of  the  Corporation,  were  Aldermen  Miles,  Harris, 
Daubeny,  Anderson,  and  Brice,  Sir  James  Laroche,  Thomas 
Daniel,  Evan  Baillie,  John  and  William  Gordon,  Lowbridge 
and  Richard  Bright,  John  Fisher  Weare,  Robert  Claxton, 
John  Pinney,  James  Tobin,  Philip  Protheroe,  Richard 
Vaughan,  John  Cave,  James  Morgan,  James  Harvey,  Samuel 
Span,  and  Henry  and  Robert  Bush.  (Alderman  Anderson 
had  been  for  some  years  the  captain  of  a  slaving  ship.) 
About  the  same  time  Mr.  Wilberforce  moved  resolutions 
pointing   to   abolition   in   the   House   of   Commons;    when 

getitions  against  the  proix)sals  were  presented  by  Mr. 
iruger  on  behalf  of  the  Corporation  and  of  the  principal 
merchants  and  traders  of  Bristol.  Mr.  Cruger  urged  that 
the  trade  should  be  regulated  and  gradually  abolished ;  but 
if  repression  were  determined  upon,  he  contended  that  the 
injured  interests  should  receive  compensation,  estimated  at 
from  60  to  70  millions  sterling.  The  resolutions  were  with- 
drawn, but  the  Act  of  the  previous  year  was  amended  and 
renewed.  From  that  time  the  number  of  Bristol  slaving 
sliips  steacJily  declined,  though  the  slave  interest  remained 
very  powerful.  During  a  debate  in  17Ui,  Lord  Sheffield, 
one  of  the  local  members,  declared  that  the  arguments  of 
the  abolitionists  were  "  downright  phrensy,"  and  even 
denied  the  right  of  Parliament  to  suppress  the  traffic.  The 
majority  in  favour  of  his  views  was  1G3  against  88.  In  the 
same  year  an  extraordinary  affair  occurred  on  the  African 
coast.  The  captains  of  six  English  ships,  of  which  three, 
the  Thomas,  the  Wasp,  and  the  Recovery,  belonged  to 
Bristol,  thinking  that  the  native  dealers  asked  too  much  for 
their  slaves,  sent  a  notice  to  the  town  of  Calabar  that  they 
would  open  fire  upon  the  place  if  the  price  were  not  reduced. 
No  answer  being  received,  the  guns  of  the  six  vessels  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  defenceless  town,  and  the  bom- 
bardment was  continued  for  several  hours,  until  the  natives 
submitted.  In  denouncing  this  transaction  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  Mr.  Wilberforce  said  that  twenty  negroes  had 
been  killed  and  many  cruelly  wounded  in  order  that  some 
Bristol  and  liiverpool  merchants  might  make  several 
hundred  pounds  additional  profit.  The  facts,  he  added, 
were  no  secret  in  the  two  towns,  where  the  conduct  of  the 
captains  was  considered  so  meritorious  that  they  had  been 
furnished  with  new  appointments !     At  this  period,  accord- 


478  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1787. 

ing  to  Edwards's  History  of  Jamaica,  the  price  of  slaves  in 
that  island  was  about  £50  for  able-bodied  adults,  and  from 
£40   to  £47   for   boys   and   girls.     The  price  paid  on   the 
African  coast  being  under  £22  per  head,  the  profit  on   a 
voyage  was  immense,  and  it  is  scarcely  surprising  to  learn 
from  Clarkson's   biographer   that  the   bells  of  the  Bristol 
churches  rang  merry  peals  on  the  news  being  received  of 
the  rejection  of  one  of  Wilberforce's  motions.     About  the 
same   time,  the  Eeverend   Raymond  Harris,  of  Liverpool, 
produced  his  *'  Scriptural  Researches  on  the  licitness  of  the 
slave  trade,  showing  its  conformity  with  the  Sacred  writings 
of  the  Word  of  God  ;  "  and  the  work  was  liberally  patronised. 
Allowance   must,  of   course,  be   made   for   sentiments   and 
customs  that  had   long   been  common  to  the  whole  com- 
mercial community,  and   had  been  applauded  by  eminent 
statesmen.     It  cannot  be  doubted,  however,  that  there  was 
a  latent  consciousness  that  the  trade  was  inconsistent  with 
reason,  religion,  and  humanity;  and  that   the  suppression 
of  right  principles  for  the  sake  of  profit  lowered,  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  tone  of  society  in  Bristol  during  the  later  years 
of  the  century. 

"  The  Jacob's  Wells  Water  Works,"  held  under  a  lease 
from  the  dean  and  chapter,  were  offered  for  sale  in  the  local 
journals  of  April  7th,  1787.  The  water  supplied  the  houses 
of  the  capitular  body,  and  a  few  dwellings  in  or  near 
College  Green.  The  lease  expired  in  1800,  w^hen  the  owners 
granted  a  new  demise  of  the  spring  and  pipes,  "  together 
with  the  house  in  the  Cloisters  in  which  the  cisterns  are 
situate,"  to  George  Rogers,  chapter  clerk,  in  trust  for  the 
dean  and  chapter. 

The  refusal  of  two  leading  merchants  to  pay  the  dues  on 
imports  demanded  by  the  Corporation  w^as  recorded  under 
1776.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  30th  June,  1787, 
it  was  reported  that  the  actions  against  Messrs.  Cruger  and 
Miles  had  been  heard  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  where  the 
legality  of  the  dues  had  been  affirmed,  and  the  defendants 
had  been  ordered  to  pay  the  amounts  demanded  from  them, 
with  costs.  Nothing  more  was  recorded  respecting  the 
matter  until  December,  1789,  when  the  Council  ordered  that 
Elton,  Miles  and  Co.,  Coghlan,  Peach  and  Co.,  Bush,  Elton 
and  Bush,  Jer.  Hill  and  Sons,  Ames,  Hellicar  and  Son,  and 
other  leading  firms  that  had  also  refused  to  pay  the  dues, 
should  be  forthwith  prosecuted  for  arrears,  Messrs.  Miles 
and  Cruger  having  submitted  to  the  judgment  delivered 
against  them.     The  threatened  firms  at  once  surrendered. 


1787.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  479 

The  effect  of  the  judgment  was  to  put  an  end  to  the 
financial  embarrassment  under  which  the  Corporation  had 
been  long  labouring.  In  178B  the  dues  produced  only  £291. 
In  1790  they  brought  in  (exclusive  of  arrears)  i;2,4-18,  in 
1791,  £2,973,  while  in  1800  the  receipts  were  no  less  than 
£3,861.  The  impost,  however,  being  very  burdensome,  after- 
wards crippled  tne  commerce  of  the  port,  and  diverted  much 
traffic  to  Liverpool  and  other  rivals. 

The  creation  of  a  new  suburb  around  Brunswick  Square 
having  aroused  an  agitation  in  St.  James's  parish  for  a  new 
church,  the  Common  Council  approved  of  the  division  of 
the  parish,  subscribed  £400  towards  the  endowment  of  a 
new  incumbency  (of  which  it  claimed  the  patronage),  and 
undertook  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  needful  Act  of  Parliament. 
The  Chamber  subsequently  voted  £1,000  towards  the  build- 
ing fund.  At  a  meeting  of  the  parishioners,  in  June,  1787, 
it  was  resolved  to  build  the  new  church  **  in  the  gardens 
behind  the  new  tontine  buildings  in  Brunswick  Square  " — 
where  the  square  named  after  the  Duke  of  Portland  was 
already  in  contemplation.  In  the  autumn,  Mr.  James  Allen, 
architect,  produced  a  design  in  the  Greek  style,  which  the 
parochial  committee  accepted ;  but  in  December,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  occult  manoeuvring,  Mr.  Allen  was  dismissed, 
and  a  plan  of  a  so-called  Gothic  church,  produced  by  Daniel 
Hague,  an  "eminent  mason,"  was  dennitively  approved. 
The  secret  of  this  intrigue  has  never  been  clearly  explained ; 
but  the  belief  of  contemporaries  seems  to  have  been  that 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Atwell  Small,  D.D.,  the  incumbent  of  St. 
James's,  was  the  real  inventor  of  the  semi-Chinese  tower 
that  the  mason  fathered  and  carried  out.  The  foundation 
stone  of  St.  Paul's  was  laid  by  the  mayor  on  the  23rd  April, 
1789.  The  church,  which  was  as  costly  as  it  was  ugly,  and 
burthened  the  parish  with  a  rate  of  Is.  8d.  in  the  pound  for 
twenty  years,  was  consecrated  on  the  22nd  September,  1794, 
and  opened  for  service  on  the  26th  January  following. 

The  original  Infirmary  building  had  been  condemned, 
for  some  years  previous  to  this  time,  as  inconvenient  and 
inadequate.  In  1782,  the  medical  staff  strongly  urged  that 
the  institution  should  be  removed  to  the  Red  Lodge,  but 
through  the  energetic  opposition  of  Mr.  T.  Tyndall,  who 
objected  to  the  hospital  being  placed  so  near  his  park,  the 
subscribers  finally  resolved  to  retain  the  old  site  (R.  Smith's 
MSS.).  After  a  long  delay  occasioned  by  want  of  funds, 
the  foundation  stone  of  the  east  wing  was  laid  in  June, 
1784,  and  the  work  was  completed  in  May,  X786.    On  the 


480  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1787. 

24tli  June,  1788,  the  foundation  stone  was  laid  of  the  central 
building,  the  cost  being  chiefly  defrayed  out  of  invested 
capital.  In  December,  1792,  it  was  determined  to  complete 
the  house  by  adding  another  wing,  at  an  estimated  expense 
of  £7,000,  but  the  work  was  delayed  for  several  years  from 
lack  of  funds.  For  some  inexplicable  reason,  the  walls  of 
the  whole  building  were  coated  with  black  plaster,  which 
gave  it  an  extremely  lugubrious  appearance. 

Henry  Burgum,  the  pewterer,  whose  vanity  and  ignorance 
during  prosperity  were  so  artfully  duped  by  Chatterton, 
suffered  from  painful  reverses  of  fortune  in  the  decline  of 
life.  In  1786,  when  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs  from 
gout,  he  was  lodged  as  an  insolvent  debtor  in  a  London 
prison,  but  was  rescued  by  the  subscriptions  of  sympathis- 
ing friends.  Having  returned  to  Bristol,  he  arranged  for 
a  performance  of  the  oratorio  of  "  Judas  Maccabaeus  "  in 
September,  1787,  from  which  he  netted  a  handsome  profit. 
The  ticket  of  admission  to  this  performance  (price  five 
shillings)  was  beautifully  engraved  by  Bartolozzi,  and  is 
now  a  great  rarity.  Another  oratorio,  "  The  Messiah,"  was 
given  in  April,  1788,  also  for  the  benefit  of  Burgum,  who 
died  in  the  following  year.  Handel's  greatest  work  was 
again  performed  in  St.  James's  church  in  April,  1791. 

A  loose  sheet  of  paper,  containing  a  detailed  account  of 
the  expenses  incurred  by  Mr.  Thomas  Daniel  in  serving  the 
office  of  sheriff  in  the  year  ending  Michaelmas,  1787,  has 
been  preserved  in  one  of  the  account  books  of  the  Corpora- 
tion. Amongst  the  items  are : — Sheriffs'  dinner,  £269  16s.  Id. 
A  chariot,  £149  2.s*.  Trumpeters,  £9  Is.  4d.  French  wines, 
£51  3^.  Half  of  cost  of  plate  given  to  the  mayor,  £38  12s. 
lid.  Ribbons  for  the  Judge,  £7  12^.  4d.  Servants'  hats, 
£15  8^.  A  variety  of  other  items  raises  the  total  to  £992 
15j?.  9d. ;  while  the  net  allowance  for  serving  the  office  is  set 
down  at  £408  3.9.,  showing  that  Mr.  Daniel  was  nearly  £600 
out  of  pocket.  His  fellow-sheriff,  Mr.  Baillie,  was  a  sufferer 
to  the  same  extent.  The  preservation  of  the  account  in  the 
corporate  archives  indicates  that  Mr.  Daniel  had  complained 
of  the  inadequacy  of  the  allowance,  but  the  Chamber  took 
no  action  in  the  matter. 

After  an  interval  of  twenty  years,  the  question  of  im- 
proving the  accommodation  offered  to  shipping  frequenting 
the  port  again  excited  public  attention.  In  September,  the 
Merchants'  Company  instructed  Mr.  Joseph  Nickalls,  a 
London  engineer,  to  make  a  survey,  and  that  gentleman,  on 
the  22nd  November,  produced  a  lengthy  report  narrating 


1787.]  IN  THE  BIGHTBBNTH  CENTURY.  481 

the  results  of  his  inspection.  A  copy  of  this  paper  is  in  the 
Jefferies'  Collection,  and  after  its  perusal  it  seems  impossible 
to  doubt  that  if  Mr.  Nickalls'  advice  had  been  followed  the 
subsequent  commercial  history  of  Bristol  would  have  been 
changed  to  an  extent  now  hardly  conceivable.  The  engineer 
pointed  out  the  fatal  defect  of  any  scheme  for  a  dock  con- 
structed at  or  above  Rownham,  namely  the  impossibility  of 
the  larger  class  of  vessels  entering  it  except  at  spring  tides, 
owing  to  the  rise  of  about  ten  feet  in  the  bed  of  the  Avon 
near  St.  Vincent's  Rocks.  He  was  therefore  of  opinion  that 
the  most  desirable  place  for  erecting  locks  for  a  floating 
harbour  was  near  the  foot  of  the  Black  Rock,  by  which  an 
additional  depth  of  several  feet  of  water  would  be  gained, 
and  the  navigation  of  the  narrow  and  tortuous  portion  of 
the  Avon  would  be  rendered  easy.  The  river  bottom,  at  the 
point  in  question,  being  of  rock,  the  task  of  construction 
would  be  inexpensive,  while  owing  to  the  increased  breadth 
of  the  stream  the  arrangements  for  dealing  with  land  floods 
by  hatches  and  "  cascades  "  would  be  greatly  facilitated. 
Ships  of  the  greatest  draught  could  ascend  to  Black  Rock 
at  the  lowest  tides,  the  depth  there  being  nearly  40  feet ; 
and  thus,  if  a  lock  were  constructed,  instead  of  a  large 
vessel  being  detained  at  Kingroad  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  as 
often  happened,  it  could  at  once  proceed  to  Bristol  even 
at  neaps ;  and  a  similar  saving  of  time  would  be  secured  on 
departures.  The  scheme  possessed  the  additional  advantage 
that  no  purchases  of  laud  would  be  necessary.  Bridewell 
mill  would  be  rendered  useless,  but  its  value  was  inconsider- 
able, and  Mr.  Nickalls  suggested  the  erection  of  mills  of 
vastly  greater  power  at  the  proposed  locks.  In  the  following 
May  another  proposal  was  made  by  Mr.  Jessop,  the  engineer 
who  in  the  result  so  unhappily  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
citizens.  He  proposed  the  building  of  a  dam  near  Mardyke, 
with  a  cut  for  carrying  off  flood  water  through  Rownnam 
Mearls,  at  an  estimated  outlay  of  £32,300 ;  observing  in  his 
report : — "  On  the  head  of  expence  I  have  no  conception  that 
Mr.  Nickalls'  dam  at  the  Black  Rock  can  be  executed  for 
less  than  £30,(XX)."  Trifling  as  was  the  amount  even  by 
the  admission  of  a  rival,  selfish  interests  and  sluggishness 
stood  obstinately  in  the  way,  and  the  question  of  port  im- 
provement was  once  more  indefinitely  postponed. 

Compulsory  church-going  was  in  favour  amongst  Clifton 
vestrymen  in  1787.  On  the  10th  October  the  vestry  re- 
solved that,  "  As  the  poor  of  the  parish  do  not  frequent  the 
service  of  the  church,  but  loiter  in  idleness  and  are  most 

I  1 


482  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1787-88. 

probable  guilty  of  offences  during  the  time  of  such  service/' 
the  able-bodied  paupers  should  thenceforth  be  required  to 
attend  prayers  every  Friday  before  receiving  relief,  "  and 
in  default  of  attending  shall  not  receive  the  usual  pay  for 
that  week."  It  was  further  determined  to  build  a  gallery 
in  the  church  for  the  use  of  the  paupers,  so  that  they  should 
be  compelled  to  attend  twice  every  Sunday,  under  pain  of 
forfeiting  their  allowances.  The  vestry,  two  years  later, 
passed  a  new  order,  requiring  the  overseer  to  withhold  the 
parochial  pittance  from  such  of  the  poor  as  did  not  attend 
divine  service  twice  every  Sunday  preceding  the  usual  pay- 
day. A  few  days  later,  a  Sunday  School  was  established 
for  the  youthful  poor  of  the  parish. 

In  December,  1787,  the  local  society  for  the  relief  of  poor 
insolvent  debtors  secured  the  release  from  Newgate  of  a 
Frenchman  calling  himself  F.  C.  M.  G.  Maratt  Amiatt,  who 
had  practised  in  various  English  towns  as  a  teacher  and 
quack  doctor,  and  had  finally  been  incarcerated  for  petty 
debts  in  Bristol.  The  man  forthwith  disappeared,  and  it 
was  not  until  some  years  later  that  he  was  identified  in  the 
person  of  the  fanatical  democrat,  Jean  Paul  Marat,  who  was 
accustomed  to  howl  in  the  French  Convention  for  the  heads 
of  100,(XK3  nobles,  and  whose  infamous  career  was  cut  short 
in  1793  by  the  knife  of  Charlotte  Corday. 

An  advertisement  in  a  local  journal  of  January  26th,  1788, 
offers  the  cotton  mill,  **  opposite  the  Hotwell,''  to  be  sold  or 
let,  the  proprietors  being  about  to  remove  their  manufactory 
to  Kevnsham.  The  mill,  sometimes  called  the  Red  Mill, 
was  afterwards  used  for  grinding  logwood. 

John  Wesley  made  one  of  his  periodical  visits  to  the  city 
in  March,  1788,  and  preached  on  the  6th  upon  the  burning 
question  of  the  slave  trade.  His  sermon  was  interrupted  by 
what  he  deemed  a  supernatural  occurrence.  "  A  vehement 
noise  arose,  and  shot  like  lightning  through  the  whole  con- 
gregation. The  terror  and  confusion  were  inexpressible. 
The  benches  were  broken  in  pieces,  and  nine-tenths  of  the 
congregation  appeared  to  be  struck  with  the  same  panic. 
In  about  six  minutes  the  storm  ceased.  None  can  account 
for  it  without  supposing  some  preternatural  influence. 
Satan  fought  lest  his  kingdom  should  be  delivered  up." 
Ten  days  later  Weslev  preached  at  the  Mayor's  Chapel,  and 
afterwards  dined  at  the  Mansion  House.  The  indefatigable 
missionary  paid  his  last  visit  to  Bristol  in  July  and  August, 
1790,  when  he  was  in  his  87th  year.  At  his  chapel  one 
morning,  he  records,  he  was  without  assistance,  "  so  I  was 


1788.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  483 

obliged  to  shorten  the  service  within  the  compass  of  three 
hours/^  He  preached  during  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
near  King's  Square,  Wesley  preached  at  Temple  Church 
as  usual  during  his  stay,  and  incidentally  noted  the  energy 
of  the  Kev.  Joseph  Easterbrook,  the  vicar,  who  **  had 
preached  in  every  house  in  his  parish.'* 

The  Presbyterian  (Unitarian)  chapel  in  Lewin's  Mead, 
having  become  insufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  its 
supporters,  was  removed  in  the  spring  of  1788.  Some  ad- 
joining property,  belonging  to  the  Bartholomew  Hospital 
estate,  was  acquired,  and  a  large  chapel  in  a  semi-classical 
style  was  opened  on  the  4th  September,  1791.  The  congre- 
gation was  then  the  wealthiest  in  the  city,  many  of  the 
aldermen  and  common  councillors  being  members.  Owing 
to  the  number  of  suburban  families  that  drove  to  the  chapel 
in  coaches,  a  mews  was  built  in  the  chapel  yard  for  shelter- 
ing their  horses. 

A  remarkable  illustration  of  the  slow  gestation  of  some 
public  questions  in  the  corporate  body  is  afforded  by  a 
minute  of  the  Common  Council,  dated  the  12th  April,  1788. 
*^  A  proposal "  was  then  laid  before  the  Chamber — it  is  not 
said  by  whom — for  the  conversion  of  the  Drawbridge  into  a 
stone  bridge.  The  project  was  "  unanimously  negatived," 
and  was  not  heard  of  again  for  nearly  a  century.  The 
Corporation,  shortly  before  the  above  date,  forbade  all  carts 
to  cross  the  Drawbridge,  and  the  bridge  was  ordered  to  be 
drawn  up  for  two  days  every  year. 

The  lengthened  popularity  of  the  feast  of  the  29th  May, 
in  honour  of  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  can  only  be 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  holiday  was  peculiarly 
cherished  by  the  Jacobites,  and  served  as  a  cloak  for 
seditious  manifestations.  So  late  as  1788,  there  were  in- 
fluential Bristolians  who  dressed  the  front  of  their  dwellings 
with  oak  boughs,  and  huge  branches  were  brought  into 
the  city  to  meet  the  demand.  A  writer  in  Sarah  Farley^s 
Journal  of  the  24th  May  complains  warmly  of  the  injury 
done  in  the  suburbs  by  persons  who  mutilated  oak  trees  to 
supply  decorations,  and  recommends  the  mayor  to  stop  the 
practice.  The  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution  gave  a 
new  turn  to  popular  demonstrations. 

On  the  13th  June,  1788,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Easterbrook, 
vicar  of  Temple,  assisted  by  six  Wesleyan  preachers  and 
eight  "serious  persons,"  held  an  extraordinary  service  in 
Temple  Church,  for  the  professed  purpose  of  delivering  a 
man  named   George  Lukins,  a   tailor,  of  Yatton,   from  a 


484  THK   ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1788. 

demoniacal  possession.  According  to  the  account  authenti- 
cated by  Mr.  Easterbrook,  Lukins  was  violently  con^oilsed 
upon  the  exorcists  singing  a  hymn,  and  the  voices  of  various 
invisible  agents  proceeded  from  his  mouth  uttering  horrible 
blasphemies — a  *'  Te  Deum  to  the  Devil "  being  sung  by  the 
demons  in  different  voices  whilst  the  ministers  engaged  in 
prayer.  However,  when  the  vicar  formally  ordered  the  evil 
spirits  to  depart,  they  obeyed  with  bowlings,  and  the  patient 
was  delivered  after  a  two  hours'  struggle.  This  account  of 
the  proceedings  appeared  in  Sarah  Farley's  Journal  of  the 
21st  June,  and  gave  rise  to  a  vehement  controversy.  The 
exorcists  were  covered  with  ridicule  by  Mr.  Norman,  a 
surgeon,  of  Yatton,  who  stated  that  Lukins,  who  was  a  clever 
ventriloquist,  had  begun  his  imposture  in  1770  by  alleging, 
in  the  course  of  fits  of  howling  and  leaping,  that  he  was 
bewit<;hed,  and  had  from  time  to  time  renewed  his  exhibi- 
tions of  pretended  torture,  causing  several  infirm  old  people 
to  be  cruelly  persecuted  for  bewitching  him.  Lukins's 
latest  and  most  impudent  fraud  was  attributed  to  a  natural 
fondness  for  mystification,  stimulated  by  the  simplicity  of 
his  dupes. 

The  jouniey  of  George  III.  to  Cheltenham  in  the  summer 
of  1788,  being  the  first  royal  visit  to  the  West  since  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne,  caused  much  excitement  in  the  dis- 
trict. At  a  meeting  of  the  Coun<  il,  on  the  26th  July,  a 
deputation  was  apix)inted  to  invito  his  Majesty  to  Bristol, 
and  in  the  following  month  the  mayor,  recorder,  and  other 
dignitaries  proceeded  to  Cheltenham  in  great  pomp,  to  pre- 
sent an  address.  The  king  (whose  mental  infirmity  a  few 
weeks  later  has  been  attributed  to  his  inordinate  consump- 
tion of  the  aperient  waters)  was  unable  to  respond  to  the 
invitation,  but  promised  to  visit  Bristol  at  some  future 
time. 

The  fame  for  good  cheer  of  John  Weeks,  the  landlord  of 
the  Bush  hotel,  reached  its  climax  in  September,  when  a 
complaisant  London  journal  held  up  his  hostelry  to  the 
admiration  of  the  kingdom.  "Any  person  who  calls  for 
three-penny  worth  of  liquor,"  says  the  writer,  "  has  the  run 
of  the  larder,  and  may  eat  as  much  as  he  pleases  for  nothing. 
Last  Christmas  Dny  he  sold  3000  single  glasses  of  punch 
before  dinner."  The  usual  Christmas  bill  of  fare  at  the 
Bush,  indeed,  would  have  done  honour  to  the  table  of 
Gargantua.  For  casual  visitors — such  as  the  3,000  punch 
drinkers—  there  was  a  mighty  baron  of  cold  beef,  weighing 
about  3501b.,  flanked  by  correspondingly  liberal  supplies  of 


1788-89.]       IN  THE  KIGHTBBNTH  CENTURY.  485 

mutton,  ham,  etc.  For  orthodox  diners,  the  larder  was 
piled  with  gastrouomical  dainties,  the  list  of  which  occupied 
half  a  column  in  the  newspapers. 

With  the  year  1788  commenced  a  series  of  bad  harvests 
and  a  long  period  of  distress.  With  a  view  to  reducing  the 
price  of  meat,  the  Corporation  offered  bounties  upon  fish 
brought  into  the  port.  Upwards  of  £250  were  spent  in  this 
way  during  the  month  of  November,  1788,  and  £309  in  the 
corresponding  period  of  1789.  Tlio  bounty  was  continued 
until  1791.  The  increase  of  pauperism  provoked  a  cry  for 
relief  from  some  of  the  central  parishes,  which  were  still 
contributing  the  share  of  the  charge  fixed  by  the  first  local 
poor  Act  of  1695,  when  the  new  suburban  districts  were 
mere  fields.  The  matter  was  brought  before  the  Court  of 
King^s  Bench,  which  directed  the  local  authorities  to  make 
a  new  assessment ;  and  in  the  result  the  central  parishes, 
previously  paying  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  poor  rate,  were 
charged  little  more  than  one  half ;  the  diff*erence  being 
thrown  chiefly  upon  St.  James's,  St.  Augustine's  and  Red- 
cliff". 

The  building  ground  in  Wine  Street  adjoining  the  recon- 
structed Christ  Church  was  sold  by  auction  on  the  2nd 
March,  1789,  when  the  ardour  of  purchasers  excited 
astonishment.  The  four  lots  were  of  a  total  length  of  101 
feet,  with  a  very  shallow  depth.  For  the  whole  a  perpetual 
ground-rent  was  obtained  of  £221  4.*?.  lO^^Z.,  being  about 
£2  5.V.  per  running  foot,  equivalent  to  a  fee-simple  value  of 
about  £170  per  yard  frontage. 

The  king's  recovery  from  mental  alienation  was  celebrated 
early  in  March  by  a  general  holiday.  The  rejoicings  cost 
the  civic  purse  about  jfcl50.  The  Council  deputed  six 
gentlemen  to  present  an  address  at  St.  James's,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  deputation  amounted  to  £189.  The  Merchants* 
Society  not  only  forwarded  an  address,  but  presented  the 
freedom  of  the  company  to  Lord  Thurlow,  Lord  Camden, 
and  Mr.  Pitt,  the  leading  members  of  the  Government. 
The  fact  is  of  historical  significance,  as  it  denotes  that  the 
predominance  which  the  Whigs  long  possessed  in  the  society 
had  been  wrested  from  them  by  their  political  opponents. 

The  Common  Council,  in  March,  increased  the  yearly 
payment  made  to  the  master  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Hospital 
for  feeding,  clothing,  and  educating  the  boys  from  the 
modest  sum  of  £10  to  £12  per  head.  At  a  later  meeting, 
the  Chamber  arranged  the  dietary  of  the  scholars.  Dinner 
was  to  consist  of  meat  for  five  days,  and  of  milk  pottage  for 


48G  THE   ANXALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1/89. 

two  days  weekly.  Breakfast  all  the  year  round  was  limited 
to  bread  and  table  beer  ;  for  supper  the  provision  was  bread 
and  cheese,  with  beer.  Malt  liquor  figured  at  all  the  meals. 
The  boys  were  to  rise  at  6  o'clock  in  summer  and  7  in 
winter,  and  go  to  bed  at  8  every  evening. 

A  visitor  to  the  Hot  Well  addressed  a  letter  to  a  local 
journal  in  June,  suggesting  that  a  few  stands  for  hackney 
coaches  should  be  established  in  Clifton.  As  there  was  *'  no 
proper  footpath  "  in  the  road  to  Bristol,  strangers,  he  said, 
snfiered  much  inconvenience.  About  the  same  time,  a 
quarrel  broke  out  between  the  lessees  of  the  New  Long  Room 
and  the  Old  Long  Room,  and  as  most  of  the  visitors  sup- 
ported one  or  the  other  of  the  disputants  the  place  was 
unusually  animated.  The  question  at  issue  was  as  to  the 
days  on  which  breakfasts  and  promenades  should  be  held  at 
the  respective  rooms.  It  was  at  length  resolved  that  there 
should  be  a  public  breakfast  and  dance  every  Monday,  a  ball 
eveiy  Tuesday,  and  a  promenade  with  dancing  every 
Thursday,  alternately  at  the  two  rooms.  Admission  to  the 
breakfasts  and  promenades  cost  Is.Gd.  per  head.  For  the 
balls  a  gentleman  paid  a  guinea  at  each  room  for  the  season, 
and  could  introduce  two  ladies.  The  Bristol  residents  in 
Clifton  received  a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  visitors  for  having 
allowed  the  dispute  to  be  arranged  by  the  latter. 

Owing  to  an  augmentation  of  the  stamp-duty  on  news- 
papers, the  price  of  the  local  journals  was  advanced  in  July 
to  S^d.^  and  shortly  afterwards  to  4d.  The  duty  on  adver- 
tisements, however  short,  was  fixed  at  28.  6d.  (increased  in 
1797  to  3^.  6rf.).  A  clause  in  the  Act  imposing  those  bur- 
dens inflicted  a  penalty  of  i:.10  on  any  person  lending  a 
newspaper  for  hire.  The  tax  on  newspapers  was  repeatedly 
increased,  and  about  the  close  of  the  century  the  price  of 
each  tiny  journal  was  advanced  to  sixpence. 

Little  information  has  been  preserved  respecting  the 
numerous  glass  manufactories  carried  on  in  the  city  during 
the  century.  In  a  local  journal  of  August  22nd,  1781), 
Messrs.  Wadham,  Ricketts  and  Co.  announced  that  they 
had  entered  upon  "  the  Phoenix  flint-glass  works,  without 
Temple  Gate  (late  the  Phoenix  inn),"  a  place  which  was 
subsequently  converted  into  a  bottle  manufactory .  Fourteen 
glass  works  were  in  operation  in  1797,  to  some  of  which 
strangers  and  sight-seers  were  admitted  twice  a  week. 

In  the  autumn  of  1789  the  Misses  More  retired  from  the 
proi-perous  boarding-school  conducted  by  them  for  upw^ards 
of  thirty  years.     The   sisters  removed  to  Cowslip  Green, 


1789-90.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  487 

Somerset,  where  they  had  built  a  commodious  retreat,  and 
applied  themselves  with  exemplary  devotion  to  establishing 
Sunday  schools  in  the  benighted  parishes  around  them. 
The  boarding-school  was  continued  by  Selina  Mills  (who 
had  been  a  teacher  in  the  establishment),  assisted  by  her 
sisters,  one  of  whom  married  Mr.  Zachary  Macaulay,  and 
became  the  mother  of  the  historian.  Lord  Macaulay.  Miss 
Mills's  charge  for  boarders  in  1789  was  only  20  guineas  a 
year  per  head. 

The  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution  this  year  seems 
to  have  inspired  the  corporate  body  with  a  desire  to  cele- 
brate the  centenary  of  a  more  wisely  conducted  incident  in 
English  history.  The  4th  November  **  being  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Glorious  Revolution,"  was  commemorated  with 
unexampled  rejoicing,  £177  ILv.  8d,  being  expended  by  the 
chamberlain,  chiefly  for  liquor,  to  render  fitting  honour  to 
William  III.  Animated,  probably,  by  the  same  motive,  the 
Common  Council,  in  December,  requested  the  Duke  of 
Portland,  the  descendant  of  the  Dutch  King's  favourite,  to 
sit  for  his  portrait.  His  Grace  having  assented,  the  com- 
mission was  entrusted  to  Thomas  Lawrence,  the  Bristol- born 
artist  then  fast  rising  into  celebrity,  who  received  100 
guineas  for  the  picture  and  £44  for  the  frame. 

Shiercliffe's  Guide  to  Bristol,  published  in  1789,  contains 
some  information  in  reference  to  the  winter  balls  held  at  the 
Assembly  Rooms.  Those  reunions  took  place  on  alternate 
Thursdays,  when  "  menuets  "  commenced  at  half-past  six, 
and  gave  place  at  8  o'clock  to  country  dances.  "No  ladies 
to  be  admitted  in  hats.  No  children  admitted  to  dance 
menuets  in  frocks."  The  ladies  were  to  draw  for  places  in 
country  dances,  or  to  go  to  the  bottom.  No  citizen  was 
admitted  unless  he  became  a  subscriber  of  two  guineas, 
which  freed  himself  and  two  ladies.  Non-residents  paid  bs. 
each  evening,  the  fund  arising  from  visitors  being  devoted 
to  a  cotillon  ball  at  the  end  of  the  season.  The  master  of 
the  ceremonies,  James  Russell,  Esq.,  had  orders  to  close  the 
balls  at  11  O'clock  precisely. 

An  Act  of  Parliament  was  obtained  in  1790  for  rebuilding 
the  church  of  St.  Thomas,  then  in  a  ruinous  condition. 
The  cost  of  reconstruction  was  estimated  at  £5,000.  The 
Act  empowered  the  trustees  to  appropriate  a  fund  of  £1,470 
belonging  to  the  parish,  to  borrow  £700  on  the  parochial 
estates,  including  the  tolls  of  St.  Thomas's  market,  and  to 
raise  £3,600  on  security  of  a  church-rate.  The  original 
intention  was  to  destroy  the  tower  as  well  as  the  church, 


488  THE   ANNALS   OF  BRISTOL  [1790. 

but  the  former  by  some  means  escaped.  Of  the  church, 
said  to  have  been  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city,  not  a  fragment 
was  preserved.  On  the  21st  December  the  foundation  stone 
was  laid  of  the  present  edifice,  which  was  opened  for  service 
precisely  three  years  later. 

Dr.  Hallam,  dean  of  Bristol,   and   other   influential   in- 
habitants-addressed a  memorial  to  the  Corporation  early  in 
1790,  pointing  out  the  defects  of  the  city  gaol,  and  urging 
the  adoption  of   Mr.   Howard's  suggestions  for   the   better 
management  of  felons  and  other  prisoners.     The  Council,  in 
February,  resolved  to  apply  for  powers  to  build  a  new  gaol, 
and  a  Bill  for  that  purpose  was  soon  after  laid   before  the 
House  of  Commons ;  but  its  provisions  were  no  sooner  dis- 
covered by  the  citizens  than  they  raised  a  storm  of  indignant 
protests.      Newgate,  just  a  century  old,  had  been  built  at 
the  expense  of  the  inhabitants,  by  means  of  a  rate,  yet  the 
Bill  declared  it  to  be  the  sole  property''  of  the  civic  body. 
The  Corporation  had  hitherto  borne  the  expense  of  main- 
taining the  gaol  and  bridewell,  and  this  charge  represented 
almost  the  only  benefit  which  the  inhabitants  derived  from 
the  property  of  the  municipality ;  but  the  Bill  proposed  to 
relieve  the  corporate  estates  from  the  burden  (save  a  grant 
of  iJ150  yearly),  and  to  lay  it  upon  the  citizens  in  the  shape 
of  a  county  rate.     The  aldermen,  as  justices,  were  to  have 
uncontrolled  power  in  fixing  the  amount  of  the  rate,  while 
the  Common  Council  was  to  be  left  equally  unrestricted  in 
its   administration   of    the   proceeds.      Against   these   pro- 
positions, as  tvtII  as  against  various  details — notably  the  site 
of  the  new  prison,  which  it  was  proposed  to  build  in  the 
crowded    Castle    Precincts — a    formidable    opposition    was 
organised,  and    the  Corporation  withdrew   the   Bill.      The 
scheme  was  revived  in  1791,  only  to  be  again  hotly  opposed 
and  to  be  again  withdrawn — as  it  was  supposed,  definitively. 
The  civic  body,  however,  resorted  to  a  manoeuvre.     In  1792 
the   Bill,  with   all   its   unpopular    features,    was  hurriedly 
passed  through  the  House  of  Commons,  and  had  been  read  a 
first  time   in  the  Upper  House  before  its  existence  became 
known  to  the  citizens.    Petitions  with  4,000  signatures  were 
forthwith  presented,  and    the  objections  of   the   opponents 
were  heard  by  the  Lords^  committee ;  but  after  a  brief  delay 
the  measure  became  law.      The  discontent  of  the  citizens 
was  intensified   by  the  sharp  practice  of  the  Corporation. 
The  mayor  and  several  prominent  civic   personages   were 
insulted   in    the    streets,   riots    were   threatened,    and    the 
parishes  raised  a  fund  of  nearly  £4,000  to  prevent  the  Act 


1790.]  IN  THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  489 

being  put  in  operation.  The  attitude  of  the  inhabitants  at 
length  alarmed  the  Corporation,  and  some  leading  members 
of  the  Council  privately  gave  an  assurance  that  the  powers 
of  the  Act  should  be  allowed  to  expire  by  afflux  of  time 
(seven  years).  The  expenses  of  the  delegates  nominated  to 
oppose  the  Bill,  £680,  were  defrayed  by  subscription.  The 
scandals  of  Newgate  remained  unreformed  for  another  quar- 
ter of  a  century. 

Stoke's  Croft  still  retained  a  semi-rural  character.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Council  in  March,  1790,  a  committee  recom- 
mended that  the  local  surveyors  should  view  the  trees  and 
the  Cross,  or  centre  posts,  in  Stoke's  Croft,  and  report  on 
their  condition.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  surveyors,  the 
Council,  in  November,  ordered  the  trees  and  posts  in  the 
Croft  and  North  Street  to  be  removed.  The  task  was  thrown 
upon  the  inhabitants,  who  displayed  no  zeal  in  undertaking 
it,  for  in  the  following  year  the  Chamber  issued  a  fresh 
order,  requiring  the  tenants  to  remove  the  trees  as 
"  nuisances."  Double  rows  of  trees  ornamented  King 
Square  at  this  time,  and  St.  James's  Square,  St.  James's 
churchyard.  Wilder  Street,  and  part  of  Broadmead,  were 
luxuriantly  leafy  in  the  summer  months. 

Mr.  Henry  Cruger,  M.P.,  for  many  j'ears  one  of  the  most 
influential  of  local  politicians,  sailed  on  the  8th  April,  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  his  native  city  of  New 
York.  He  had  previously  issued  a  retiring  address,  in 
which  he  significantly  referred  to  the  commercial  reverses 
caused  by  the  disruption  with  America.  He  also  surrendered 
his  aldermanic  gown,  but  continued  a  member  of  the 
C/Ouncil  until  his  death,  thirty-seven  years  later.  By  his 
first  wife,  Miss  Peach,  Mr.  Cruger  had  an  only  son,  who 
assumed  his  mother's  surname  on  succeeding  to  the  estate 
of  her  father,  Mr.  Samuel  Peach,  of  Bristol  and  Toekington. 

The  local  newspapers  of  the  8th  May  contain  an  announce- 
ment that  Mr.  Samuel  Powell  had  entered  into  occupation 
of  "  the  Hotwells."  The  terms  of  his  lease  from  the  Mer- 
chants' Society  are  unknown,  but  it  is  certain  that  the 
owners,  wishing  to  profit  from  the  outlay  they  had  incurred 
for  improvements,  greatly  increased  the  former  rent.  The 
tenant,  in  consequence,  resorted  to  expedients  for  raising 
the  receipts  which  not  only  defeated  themselves,  but 
brought  about  the  complete  loss  of  the  spring's  reputation. 
The  fee  for  drinking  the  water  was  increased  from  a  nomi- 
nal sum  to  26«.  per  month  for  each  individual.  Many 
upper-class  families  that  had  flocked  to  the  pump-room  in 


490  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1790. 

the  pursuit  of*  pleasure  rather  than  of  health  declined  to  pay 
the    enhanced    charge,   and   betook    themselves    to    other 
watering  places,  and  their  example  soon  became  contagious. 
Down  to  1789  the  Hot  Well  was  crowded  during  the  season 
by  the  aristocracy  and  gentry.      Between  noon  and    two 
o'clock  the  pump-room  was  generally  so  thronged  that  it 
was  difficult  to  reach  the  drinking  tables.     In  the  afternoon 
the    Downs   were   alive    with    carriages   and    equestrians. 
Three  large  hotels  were  fully  occupied  ;  two  assembly  rooms 
were   kept  open  (a   third,  on   Clifton  Hill,  was  added   in 
August,    1790) ;     while    lodging-house     keepers    (although 
charging  only  bs.  per  room  weekly  in  winter  and   10s.  in 
summer)  frequently  retired  from  business  with  comfortable 
fortunes.     In  a  few  years  the  place  was  deserted  except  by  a 
slender  band  of  invalids  ;  the  fashionable  company  had  dis- 
appeared ;  one  of  the  hotels  and  two  of  the  assembly  rooms 
were  closed  by  the  bankruptcy  of  the  occupiers  ;    many  of 
the  lodging-house  keepers  became  insolvent ;  and  the  value 
of  houses  near  the  well  greatly  decreased.     Short-sighted 
rapacity,  in  fact,  had  been  emphatically  punished.     Powell's 
exactions,  it  must  be  added,  were  not  confined  to  strangers. 
Soon  after  he  entered  upon  the  premises,  the  right  of  Bristol- 
ians  to  visit  the  well  was  denied,  the  pump  previously  re- 
serv^ed  for  them  was  shut  up,  and  a  charge  of  3d.  per  bottle 
was  demanded  for  the  water.     In  spite  of  complaints,  the 
Merchants'    Company    tolerated    the   proceedings   of   their 
tenant,  and  it  was  not  until  March,  1793,  that  the  Common 
Council  resolved  to  vindicate  the  public  rights.     Procrasti- 
nation was  successful  in  defeating  those  rights  for  a  consider- 
able further  period,  but  in  September,  1795,  the  Merchants' 
Company   recognised   the   privilege   of  the  inhabitants   to 
drink  the  water  at  the  "  back  pump,"  and  to  carry  it  away 
in  bottles  if  marked  with  their  owners  names. 

The  Ostrich  inn,  Durdham  Down,  was  occupied  in  the 
summer  of  171X3  by  an  enterprising  landlord,  who  turned  the 
advantages  of  the  house  to  good  account.  Breakfasts  were 
provided  for  visitors  from  the  Hot  Well,  many  of  whom  rode 
over  to  play  on  the  bowling  green  ;  dinners,  with  turtle  soup, 
could  be  had  at  short  notice,  and  on  Sunday  there  was  an 
ordinary  at  2  o'clock  (at  one  shilling  per  head)  for  excursion- 
ists from  Bristol.  The  house  became  so  popular  a  resort  that 
Evans,  the  tenant,  erected  lamps  on  the  Down,  and  under- 
took to  light  them  nightly  during  the  winter.  In  1793 
Evans  removed  to  the  York  House  hotel,  Gloucester  Place, 
Clifton  (originally  opened  in  August,  1790,  by  one  John 


1790.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTCJRY.  '  491 

Dalton),  and  the  popularity  of  the  rural  inn  declined  with 
that  of  the  Hot  Well. 

A  general  election  took  place  in  June,  1790.  The  sitting 
members,  Messrs.  Cruger  and  Bfickdale,  having  retired,  the 
local  party  leaders,  to  avoid  the  expense  of  a  contest,  had 
come  to  an  understanding,  the  Tories  bringing  forward  the 
Marquis  of  Worcester,  while  the  Whigs  selected  Lord 
Sheffield.  The  latter,  as  has  been  already  shown,  was  one 
of  the  persons  who  received  a  grant  from  the  king's  secret 
election  fund  in  1781.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  Tory  in  all  but  the 
name,  but  had  made  himself  acceptable  to  the  West  India 
interest  by  his  advocacy  of  the  slave  trade.  He  is  now 
chiefly  remembered  as  the  literary  executor  of  Gibbon.  The 
party  truce  was  distasteful  to  the  lower  class  of  freemen, 
who  Avere  deprived  of  a  month's  saturnalia,  and  their  griefs 
were  espoused  by  a  clique  of  extreme  Tories,  led  by  a  Rev. 
Dr.  Barry,  who  were  opposed  to  a  compromise  with  the 
Whigs.  Instigated,  probably,  by  this  coterie,  Mr.  David 
Lewis,  an  eccentric  Welsh  tradesman,  came  forward  as  a 
candidate.  Unhappily,  Mr.  Lewis,  as  one  of  his  friends  put 
the  matter,  "  laboured  under  a  little  disadvantage  respecting 
the  English  language.''  He  was,  in  fact,  grossly  illiterate, 
and  his  attempts  at  oratory  excited  general  ridicule.  The 
official  candidates  were  received  by  imposing  processions, 
Lord  Sheffield  being  met  at  Keynsham  and  Lord  Worcester 
on  Durdham  Down  by  their  respective  partisans.  The 
polling  opened  on  the  19th  June,  and  the  result  of  the  first 
day's  voting  was  so  emphatic  that  Mr.  Lewis  at  once  with- 
drew, charging  the  freemen  with  having  falsified  their 
promises  and  bartered  their  liberty  for  liquor.  The  numbers 
polled  were  as  follows : — Lord  Worcester,  544  ;  Lord  Shef- 
field, 537 ;  Mr.  Lewis,  12  ;  Wm.  Cunninghame  (nominated 
without  his  consent),  5.  The  freedom  of  the  city  was  soon 
afterwards  presented  to  the  new  members. 

A  useful  improvement  was  determined  upon  by  the 
Council  on  the  9th  June,  when  the  aldermen  of  the  various 
wards  w^ere  directed  to  see  that  the  name  of  each  street  and 
lane  was  set  up  in  a  conspicuous  place.  From  some  doggrel 
lines  in  a  local  journal,  the  work  seems  to  have  been  com- 
pleted in  the  spring  of  1791.  The  writer  notes  that  out  of 
the  numerous  thoroughfares  dedicated  to  saints,  the  only 
one  complimented  with  its  full  name  was  St.  John  Street, 
which  had  then  been  recently  opened. 

A  chapel  in  Trenchard  Street  dedicated  to  St.  Joseph,  the 
first  building  erected  in  the  city  since  the  Reformation  for 


492  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1790-91. 

Roman  Catholic  worship,  was  opened  by  Father  Robert 
Plowden  on  the  27th  June,  1790.  Mr.  Plowden  was  a 
Jesuit,  and  the  chapel  had  been  built  under  the  directions 
of  the  Order,  who  had  undertaken  to  serve  the  "  Bristol 
mission."  The  house  on  St.  Jameses  Back,  previously  used 
as  a  chapel,  was  disposed  of,  and  was  for  a  short  time 
occupied  by  a  few  Swedenborgians. 

In  despite  of  public  disapproval,  and  of  the  emphatic  judg- 
ment of  Lord  Mansfield  in  the  Somerset  case,  the  practice  of 
keeping  negroes  as  domestic  slaves  was  still  not  uncommon. 
In  a  letter  to  Horace  Walpole,  dated  July,  1790,  Hannah 
More  wrote  : — "I  cannot  forbear  telling  you  that  at  my  city 
of  Bristol,  during  church- time,  the  congregations  were  sur- 
prised last  Sunday  with  the  bell  of  the  public  crier  in  the 
streets.  It  was  so  unusual  a  sound  on  that  day  that  the 
people  were  alarmed  in  the  churches.  They  found  that  the 
bellman  was  crying  the  reward  of  a  guinea  to  any  one  who 
would  produce  a  poor  negro  girl  who  had  run  away  because 
she  would  not  return  to  one  of  those  trafficking  islands, 
whither  her  master  was  resolved  to  send  her.  To  my  great 
grief  and  indignation,  the  poor  trembling  wretch  was 
dragged  out  from  a  hole  in  the  top  of  a  house  where  she 
had  hid  herself,  and  forced  on  board  ship."  Bonner^s  Bristol 
Journal  of  December  8th,  1792,  stated  that  a  citizen  had 
recently  sold  his  negro  servant  girl,  who  had  been  many 
j-ears  in  his  service,  for  £80  Jamaica  currency,  and  that  she 
had  been  shipped  for  that  island.  *'  A  byestander  who  saw 
her  put  on  board  the  boat  at  Lamplighter's  Hall  says,  *  her 
tears  flowed  down  her  face  like  a  shower  of  rain.' " 

An  *^  Equestrian  Theatre,"  or  in  modem  parlance  a  circus, 
was  erected  in  1791,  in  Limekiln  Lane,  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  travelling  companies  that  usually  visited  the  city  once 
a  year.  The  eastern  part  of  the  building,  which  is  described 
as  of  large  dimensions,  was  fitted  up  as  an  amphitheatre  for 
the  spectators. 

Much  unwillingness  having  been  shown  by  various  mem- 
bers of  the  Common  Council  to  serve  the  office  of  sheriflF,  an 
edifying  by-law  was  enacted  in  March,  1791.  The  fine  for 
non-acceptance  of  the  dignity  was  fixed  at  £300.  If  all  the 
members  of  the  Corporation  had  served  the  office,  an  election 
was  to  be  made  out  of  the  councillors  by  seniority,  excepting 
those  who  had  already  served  a  second  time,  and  also  except- 
ing any  "  gentleman  who  hath  become  bankrupt  or  hath 
compounded  with  his  creditors,  and  not  afterwards  paid 
twenty  shillings  in  the  pound.''     There  is  reason  to  believe 


1791.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  493 

that  persons  entitled  to  the  second  exemption  were  by  no 
means  rare.  Mr.  J.  B.  Kington,  the  author  of  numerous 
letters  signed  "A  Burgess,"  published  in  the  Bristol  Mercury 
in  1833-4,  asserted  that  "  at  one  time  a  sixth  part  of  the 
Council "  consisted  of  insolvents,  "  each  paying  about  bs,  in 
the  pound,  except  one,  who  left  the  country  without  paying 
anything." 

On  the  19th  March  the  gossip  mongers  of  the  city  were 
entertained  by  the  romantic  elopement  of  one  of  the  pupils 
confided  to  the  care  of  Miss  Mills,  of  Park  Street.  The  girl 
in  question,  Clementina  Clerke,  was  under  16  years  of  age, 
and  was  the  heiress  of  an  uncle  named  Ogilvie,  who  had 
made  a  fortune  of  £6,000  a  year  in  Jamaica.  Her  wealth 
having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  a  dissipated  but  handsome 
apothecary  named  Richard  V.  Perry,  he  furtively  sought  her 
attention  whilst  she  and  her  companions  made  their  daily 
promenades.  The  precocious  heiress  offering  tokens  of 
affection,  Perry  one  day  slipped  a  note  into  her  hand  pro- 
posing that  she  should  go  off  with  him  to  be  married  at 
Gretna  Green,  and  the  evasion  was  facilitated  by  the 
bribing  of  a  servant.  The  lovers  had  never  spoken  to  each 
other  when  the  girl  joined  Perry  in  the  post-chaise  which 
hurried  them  to  Scotland,  in  company  with  an  attorney 
named  Baynton.  Miss  Clerke's  schoolmistress  followed  the 
couple  to  Belgium  and  elsewhere,  but  without  success.  On 
returning  to  England,  Perry  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
abduction,  preferred  by  Mr.  W.  Gordon,  the  guardian  of  his 
child  wife,  but  the  latter,  at  the  trial  in  April,  1794,  swore 
that  she  had  eloped  of  her  own  accord,  and  the  prisoner  was 
acquitted.  Ba3''nton,  who  disappeared  for  many  months, 
was  not  prosecuted.  He  afterwards  informed  Mr.  Richard 
Smith  that  he  had  lost  £3,000  by  the  affair,  but  was  never 
able  to  extract  a  guinea  from  his  client,  who  had  promised 
him  £3,600.  Mrs.  Perry  separated  from  her  husband,  and 
died  in  poverty  at  Bath  about  1812.  Her  husband  trans- 
ported himself  to  Jamaica,  where  he  took  the  name  of 
Ogilvie,  lived  in  magnificent  style,  and  was  a  candidate  for 
the  House  of  Assembly  in  181G  (R.  Smith's  MSS.). 

The  building  trade  of  the  city  was  possessed  at  this  period 
with  a  speculative  mania  destined  to  end  in  widespread  and 
prolonged  disaster.  The  "rage  for  building''  was  first 
noticed  by  the  local  press  in  November,  1786,  but  was  then 
chiefly  confined  to  Clifton,  where  Sion  Row  was  being  con- 
structed.  In  May,  1788,  a  letter  in  Sarah  Farley's  Journal 
stated  that  houses  were  rising  fast  near  Brandon  Hill  and  in 


494  THE    ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [1791. 

Great  George  Street,  Park  Street,  and  College  Street,  while 
preparations  for  others  were  being  made  in  Lodge  Street, 
various  parts  of  Kingsdown,  Portland  Square,  Milk  Street, 
Bath  Street,  and  elsewhere.  Shortly  after,  the  erection  was 
noticed  of  houses  in  Berkeley  Square  and  Rodney  Place.  In 
April,  1791,  Felix  Farley's  Journal  observed  : — "  So  great  is 
the  spirit  of  building  in  this  city  and  its  environs  that  we 
hear  ground  is  actually  taken  for  more  than  300()  houses, 
which  will  require  some  hundreds  more  artificers  than  are 
already  employed."  Amongst  the  designs  then  proposed 
was  the  construction  of  the  two  imposing  lines  of  dwellings 
afterwards  known  as  Royal  York  and  Cornwallis  Crescents. 
In  October  Bonner's  Journal  announced  that  the  Royal  Fort 
and  its  parks  (about  68  acres  in  area),  late  the  property  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Tyndall,  who  had  died  in  the  previous  April, 
had  been  purchased  (it  was  said  for  £40,000)  by  a  party  of 
gentlemen,  who  intended  to  convert  the  whole  into  building 
sites.  A  plan  for  a  gigantic  terrace  in  the  park  was  soon 
afterwards  designed  by  Wyatt,  the  fashionable  London 
architect,  but  operations  were  suspended  for  a  time  in  order 
that  an  Act  might  be  obtained  to  empower  the  dean  and 
chapter  to  grant  a  lease  for  1 ,000  years  of  that  portion  of  the 
land  held  under  a  capitular  lease.  The  Act  passed  in  1792, 
when  preparations  were  made  for  the  erection  of  the  terrace. 
At  the  same  period,  Mr.  Samuel  Worrall,  who  had  a  large 
estate  adjoining  Clifton  Down,  produced  plans  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  stately  line  of  mansions,  and  urged  the 
superiority  of  the  site  over  that  of  TyndalPs  Park.  A 
terrace  of  60  houses,  to  cost  £60,000,  was  proposed  to  be 
built  near  Ashley  Down  about  the  same  time.  The  mania 
had  scarcely  burst  into  full  bloom  before  it  evinced  signs  of 
coming  decay.  In  December,  1792,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
complete  the  erection  of  York  Crescent,  on  which  £20,000 
had  been  spent,  by  the  creation  of  a  tontine,  with  a  capital 
of  £70,000  in  £100  shares.  A  similar  association,  with  a 
capital  of  £14,000,  was  proposed  to  finish  King's  Parade, 
where  £8,000  had  been  laid  out  by  the  builder.  Both  these 
schemes  proved  abortive.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the 
French  war,  in  1793,  there  was  a  financial  panic  throughout 
the  kingdom,  and  the  failure  of  Messrs.  Lockier,  McAulay, 
and  Co.,  the  most  extensive  of  the  local  speculators,  heralded 
the  ruin  of  a  crowd  of  minor  firms.  More  than  600  houses 
in  course  of  construction  were  left  unfinished,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  suburbs,  for  many  years  after  this  collapse, 
reminded  strangers  of  a  place  that  had  undergone  bombard- 


1791.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  495 

ment.  The  shells  of  thirty- four  roofless  houses  stood  in 
York  Crescent,  dominating  similar  ruins  in  Cornwallis 
Crescent,  the  Mall,  Saville  Place,  Belle  Vue,  Richmond 
Place,  York  Place,  and  other  localities.  Kingsdown  and  St. 
Michaers  Hill  presented  many  mournful  wrecks  ;  Portland 
Square  and  the  neighbouring  streets  were  in  the  same  con- 
dition ;  and  Great  George  Street  and  its  environs  were  in  no 
better  plight.  Mr.  T.  G.  Vaughan,  the  chief  promoter  of 
the  Tyndairs  Park  scheme,  became  bankrupt  before  much 
progress  had  been  made  with  the  proposed  terrace,  the 
foundations  of  which  were  levelled  when  the  estate  returned 
into  the  hands  of  the  Tyndall  family  in  1798.  Many  years 
elapsed  before  other  traces  of  this  calamitous  mania  dis- 
appeared. Mr.  Malcolm,  the  historian  of  London,  in  a  work 
published  in  1807,  described  the  "silent  and  falling  "  houses 
in  Clifton  and  the  tottering  ruins  in  Portland  Square  as  the 
most  melancholy  spectacle  within  his  recollection. 

Mr.  Matthew  Brickdale,  ex-M.P.  for  the  city,  and  a 
common  councillor,  had  been  repeatedly  pressed  to  take  the 
office  of  mayor,  but  had  hitherto  succeeded  in  evading  the 
dignity.  On  the  16th  September,  1791,  he  sent  in  a  resigua- 
tioii  of  his  office,  but  the  Council,  refusing  to  accept  it, 
elected  him  chief  magistrate.  He,  however,  declined  either 
to  be  sworn  or  to  pay  the  fine.  John  Noble  was  thereupon 
elected  mayor,  and  an  action  was  commenced  against  Brick- 
dale,  who  was  eventually  compelled  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
£400  and  the  Corporation's  costs. 

Mr.  Noble  had  a  high  seilse  of  the  dignity  of  his  office, 
and  availed  himself  of  an  ancient  privilege  to  astonish  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty.  On  the  7th  June,  1792, 
while  the  court  was  trying  prisoners  at  the  Old  Bailey, 
London,  the  mayor  of  Bristol,  in  his  state  robes,  proceeded 
to  the  bench,  and  claimed  a  seat  with  the  other  commis- 
sioners. An  explanation  being  demanded,  his  worship 
showed  that  by  an  ancient  charter  the  successive  mayors 
and  recorders  of  Bristol  were  constituted  judges  of  the 
court.  The  claim  having  been  admitted,  Mr.  Noble  stated 
that  his  object  was  merely  to  assert  a  right,  and,  after 
saluting  the  judges,  he  withdrew.  The  mayor,  who  appears 
to  have  travelled  to  London  expressly  tor  this  purpose, 
notified  the  result  a  few  days  later  to  the  Common  Council, 
who  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  him  for  his  conduct,  and  the 
matter  was  registered  in  the  civic  minutes.  (Mr.  NichoUs 
recorded  this  incident  as  having  taken  place  in  1762.) 

The  powers  obtained  in  1766  for  widening  the  narrow 


496  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1791. 

alleys  connecting  Christmas  Street  and  Broad  Street  with 
Broadmead  remained  in  suspension  until  September,  1791, 
when  the  Council  resolved  to  obtain  estimates  for  the  work  ; 
but  the  authorities  proceeded  languidly  in  obtaining  posses- 
sion of  the  old  hovels  in  Halliers'  Lane  and  Duck  Lane.  In 
February,  1796,  it  was  reported  that  property  had  been 
purchased  at  a  cost  of  £8,860,  and  that  the  remaining  houses 
required  could  have  been  had  for  £7,600  if  the  cash  had  been 
in  hand  ;  but  the  owners  now  demanded  more,  owing  to  a 
rise  in  the  value  of  money.  About  the  same  time,  a  bridge 
over  the  Froom,  known  as  Needless  Bridge,  connecting 
Broadmead  and  Duck  Lane,  was  replaced  by  a  more  con- 
venient structure.  After  some  additional  outlay,  the  street, 
one  of  the  ugliest  in  the  city,  was  opened  in  1799,  when  the 
Chamber,  in  honour  of  the  great  naval  hero  of  the  age, 
ordered  it  to  be  styled  Nelson  Street. 

On  the  recovery  of  the  corporate  finances  after  the  revival 
of  the  town  dues,  the  state  of  the  accounts  of  Whitson's 
charities  seems  to  have  shamed  the  authorities  into  action. 
The  sum  of  £4,000  had  been  borrowed  for  civic  purposes  from 
the  charity  funds  on  bonds,  one  of  which  had  been  out- 
standing for  31  years,  another  for  28,  and  six  from  16  to  20 
years,  while  interest  had  never  been  paid  on  any  of  them. 
The  sum  of  £1,938  was  now  transferred  to  the  charity,  as 
interest  on  the  loans. 

The  question  of  harbour  improvement  was  temporarily 
resuscitated  in  October,  the  Council  holding  a  special  meet- 
ing to  discuss  a  project  *'  for  floating  the  ships  at  the  Quay." 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  report,  and  did  so  in  Decem- 
ber. After  stating  that  the  future  prosperity  of  the  port 
largely  depended  on  the  creation  of  improved  facilities  for 
commerce,  so  as  to  place  the  city  on  fairer  terms  with  its 
rivals,  and  avoid  the  heavy  losses  to  shipping  caused  by 
existing  defects,  they  recommended  the  design  of  Messrs. 
Smeaton  and  Jessop  for  damming  the  Avon  at  Red  Clift, 
and  cutting  a  canal  through  Rownham  Meads.  The  subject 
was  soon  after  allowed  to  go  to  sleep  again,  notwithstanding 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  disasters  in  the  harbour. 

The  mayor  informed  the  Council  in  December  that 
possession  had  been  taken  of  St.  Ewen's  church  on  behalf 
of  the  Corporation,  in  whom  the  property  was  vested  by 
the  Act  of  1788.  The  woodwork,  bell,  etc.,  were  sold  soon 
afterwards.  The  upper  part  of  the  tower  (a  mean  struc- 
ture built  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.)  was  taken  down  in 
1796,  when  some  of  the  vaults  and  graves  were  "  arched 


1792.]  IN   THE    BIOHTEENTH   CENTURY.  497 

over  "  :  but  the  rest  of  the  fabric  remained  standing  until 
about  1820. 

Down  to  this  period,  the  aldermanic  body  claimed  the 
right  of  filling  up  vacancies  in  its  own  number,  independent 
of  the  Common  Council.  A  death  having  occurred  early  in 
1792,  Jeremy  Baker  was  elected  an  alderman  in  the  cus- 
tomary manner,  but  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
Corporation  the  dignity  was  rejected.  A  "  case  "  having 
been  sent  to  the  recorder  for  his  opinion,  the  learned  gentle- 
man replied  in  September  that  elections  of  aldermen  ought 
to  take  place  in  the  Common  Council,  though  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  were  alone  entitled  vto  ote.  This  course  was 
thenceforth  adopted. 

The  embarrassments  of  the  St.  Stephen's  improvement  trus- 
tees have  been  already  noticed.  To  assist  in  discharging  their 
debts,  the  Common  Council,  in  March,  1792,  offered  a  sub- 
scription of  £500,  provided  the  parish  would  reconvey  to  the 
Corporation,  for  the  sum  of  £1,000,  the  cemetery  at  the  south 
end  of  Prince's  Street.  (This  burial  ground  was  granted  to 
the  parish  by  the  civic  body  in  1676,  at  a  fee  farm  rent  of 
3.«^.  4d.  yearly.)  The  trustees  made  no  response  to  this 
proposal  for  two  years  and  a  half.  At  length,  m  September, 
1794,  at  a  meeting  of  the  landowners  and  inhabitants  of  the 
parish,  when  the  debt  of  the  trustees  amounted  to  upwards 
of  £3,000,  it  was  resolved  to  assent  to  the  offer,  the  meeting 
being  moved  thereto  by  the  fact  that  *'  the  said  churchyard, 
owing  to  the  numerous  interments  there,  will  in  a  short  time 
be  rendered  of  no  use  to  the  parish,  and  has  long  been  con- 
sidered and  indicted  as  a  nuisance."  The  site  of  the  ceme- 
tery is  now  partially  covered  by  warehouses. 

A  letter  in  a  local  newspaper  of  April,  1792,  reporting  a 
carriage  accident  in  HotweU  Road,  sarcastically  compliments 
the  Society  of  Merchants  upon  the  manner  in  which  the 
highway  was  maintained.  So  long  as  the  mud  remains, 
says  the  writer,  coaches  will  fall  on  a  soft  surface,  "  con- 
sequently nothing  but  smothering  remains  to  be  dreaded." 

Owing  to  the  great  activity  in  the  local  building  trades, 
disputes  as  to  wages  were  numerous  about  this  time.  At 
the  summer  assizes  at  Gloucester,  two  brickmakers,  of  St. 
Philip's  parish,  were  each  sentenced  to  two  years'  imprison- 
ment, for  having  combined,  with  others,  to  demand  an 
advance  of  wages.  Strikes  were  nevertheless  common,  and 
in  some  eases  successful.  It  is  worth  observing  that  whilst 
the  employers  denounced  workmen's  combinations,  and  put 
the  law  against  them  in  operation  when  they  could,  they 

K   K 


498  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1792. 

published  advertisements  announcing  that  they  had  them- 
selves combined  to  maintain  the  old  rates  of  wages,  and  to 
refuse  work  to  strikers. 

The  population  in  the  northern  suburbs  having  become 
numerous,  the  Wesleyans  were  encouraged  to  build  a  chapel 
in  Portland  Street,  Kingsdown,  which  was  opened  on  the 
19th  August.  The  chief  promoter  was  Thomas  Webb,  a 
lieutenant  in  the  army,  who  frequently  preached  in  his 
uniform  to  large  congregations. 

Bonner^ 8  Journal  of  November  10th  announced  that  "  a 
society  is  now  forming  in  this  city  for  promoting  the  happi- 
ness of  blind  childr^  by  instructing  them  in  some  useful 
employment,  and  the  meeting-house  in  Callowhill  Street  is 
fitting  up  for  their  reception."  The  building  was  a  disused 
chapel  belonging  to  the  Friends,  who  were  the  most  zealous 
promoters  of  the  infant  Blind  Asylum. 

The  "  canal  mania  "  of  1792,  though  productive  of  less 
important  results  than  the  railway  mama  of  1845,  was  in 
many  respect-s  a  counterpart  of  that  memorable  delirium. 
On  the  20th  November  a  meeting  to  promote  the  construc- 
tion of  a  canal  from  Bristol  to  Gloucester  was  held  in  the 
Guildhall,  when  the  scheme  was  enthusiastically  supported 
by  influential  persons,  and  a  very  large  sum  was  subscribed 
by  those  present,  who  struggled  violently  with  each  other 
in  their  rush  to  the  subscription  book.  A  few  days  later,  a 
Somerset  paper  announced  that  a  meeting  would  be  held  at 
Wells  to  promote  a  canal  from  Bristol  to  Taunton.  The 
design  had  been  formed  in  this  city,  but  the  promoters 
strove  to  keep  it  a  secret,  and  bought  up  all  the  newspapers 
containing  the  advertisement.  The  news  nevertheless 
leaked  out  on  the  evening  before  the  intended  gathering, 
and  a  host  of  speculators  set  off  to  secure  shares  in  the 
undertaking,  some  aiTiving  only  to  find  that  the  subscrip- 
tion list  was  full.  The  third  meeting  was  at  Devizes,  on 
the  12th  December.  Only  one  day^s  notice  was  given  of 
this  movement,  which  was  to  promote  a  canal  from  Bristol  to 
Southampton  and  London,  but  the  news  rapidly  spread,  and 
thousands  of  intending  subscribers  rushed  to  the  little  town, 
where  the  proposed  capital  was  offered  several  times  over. 
The  "  race  to  Devizes  "  on  the  part  of  Bristolians,  who  had 
hired  or  bought  up  at  absurd  prices  all  the  old  hacks  that 
could  be  found,  and  plunged  along  the  miry  roads  through  a 
long  wintry  night,  was  attended  with  many  comic  incidents. 
A  legion  of  schemes  followed,  Bristol  being  the  proposed 
terminus  of  canals  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  some  of 


1792-93.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  499 

the  projected  water-ways  running  in  close  proximity  to 
each  other.  A  pamphlet  published  in  1795,  narrating  the 
story  of  the  mania,  states  that  the  passion  for  speculation 
spread  like  an  epidemical  disease  through  the  city,  every 
man  believing  that  he  would  gain  thousands  by  his  adven- 
tures. The  shares  which  were  at  60  premium  to-day  were 
expected  to  rise  to  60  to-morrow  and  to  100  in  a  week.  Un- 
fortunately for  these  dreams,  the  financial  panic  to  be 
noticed  presently  caused  a  general  collapse ;  and  the  only 
local  proposal  carried  out  was  the  comparatively  insignifi- 
cant scheme  for  uniting  the  Kennet  with  the  Avon. 

The  closing  weeks  of  1792  were  marked  by  an  outburst  of 
loyal  enthusiasm,  provoked  by  the  insolent  threats  of  the 
French  revolutionary  leaders  and  the  frothy  talk  of  a  hand- 
ful of  Republican  enthusiasts  in  London.  At  a  city  meeting 
in  the  Guildhall  a  declaration  of  attachment  to  the  Consti- 
tution was  cordially  approved,  and  was  subsequently  signed 
by  many  thousands.  Effigies  of  Tom  Paine  were  burnt  by 
the  populace  in  every  parish,  and  for  several  days  the  bells 
rang  loyal  peals. 

A  correspondent  of  a  local  journal  of  January  r2th,  1793, 
complained  that  there  were  no  public  warm  baths  in  the 
city,  notwithstanding  its  wealth  and  population.  A  hot 
bath  at  Baptist  Mills  is,  however,  casually  mentioned  in  a 
newspaper  of  the  previous  April. 

War  with  France  was  declared  in  February,  a  few  days 
after  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI.  Placing  faith  in  the  pre- 
dictions of  Burke  as  to  the  effects  of  the  revolution,  a  vast 
majority  of  politicians  believed  that  the  defeat  of  the  Anar- 
chists would  be  speedily  effected.  It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that  the  ardour  for  privateering  manifested  by  Bristolians 
in  previous  wars  was  on  this  occasion  entirely  lacking.  The 
newspapers  do  not  record  the  fitting  out  of  even  a  single 
cruiser.  The  heavy  losses  incurred  during  the  American 
struggle  may  have  contributed  to  this  inaction,  but  it  was 
doubtless  chiefly  due  to  commercial  disasters  unprecedentsd 
in  local  history.  As  has  been  shown,  the  years  preceding 
the  war  had  been  marked  in  Bristol,  in  common  with  other 
mercantile  centres,  by  excessive  speculation,  encouraged  by 
the  numerous  banks,  which  prodigiously  increased  their 
issues  of  paper  money.  At  the  moment  when  credit  was 
dangerously  strained,  the  French  Government  declared  war, 
and  a  violent  financial  revulsion  at  once  took  place  all  over 
this  country.  About  one  hundred  provincial  banks  stopped 
payment,  two  of  them  in  Bath,  and  for  a  few  days  crowds 


500  THE   ANNAXS   OF   BRISTOL  [1793. 

of  Bristolians  possessing  bank-notes  rushed  to  the  issuers  to 
demand  payment  in  cash.  The  banks  met  every  claim,  and 
confidence  m  them  soon  revived,  but  the  sudden  restriction 
of  credits  necessitated  by  the  state  of  the  country  brought 
about  an  extent  of  misery  and  insolvency  till  then  unknown 
in  Bristol.  Nearly  fifty  considerable  local  bankruptcies 
occurred  within  two  or  three  months,  and  the  aggregate 
losses  were  enormous.  The  effects  of  the  panic  on  the 
building  trade  have  been  already  noticed. 

The  Corporation  manifested  its  zeal  in  supporting  the 
Government  at  this  crisis  by  largely  increasing  tne  bounties 
offered  to  sailors  on  joining  the  navy.  Upwards  of  £700 
were  paid  out  of  the  civic  purse  in  this  manner  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war.  An  amusing  incident  occurred  about  this 
time  in  the  Common  Council.  Mr.  Joseph  Harford,  for  many 
years  an  influential  Quaker,  had  been  noted  for  his  advanced 
Whig  principles.  His  admiration  of  Burke,  however,  caused 
him  to  secede  from  his  party,  as  he  had  already  done  from 
his  sect,  and  he  not  only  became  an  ardent  champion  of  the 
war,  but  displayed  an  eager  desire  to  push  a  near  relative 
into  the  stiniggle.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the  12th 
June,  he  moved  that  the  Corporation  *'  do  recommend  Lieut. 
John  Harford,  now  on  board  H.M.S.  St.  George,  to  the 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  for  promotion,  and  that  Mr.  Mayor 
be  requested  to  make  such  recommendation."  Although 
many  members  must  have  stared  at  the  impudence  of  the 
proposal,  it  was  carried  without  dissent.  In  December, 
1794,  no  notice  having  been  taken  of  the  mayor^s  applica- 
tion, the  ex-Friend,  who  had  just  actively  promoted  the 
embodiment  of  a  local  regiment,  induced  the  Chamber  to 
direct  that  the  mayor  should  write  to  the  Duke  of  Portland 
(to  whom  a  butt  of  sherry  was  ordered  to  be  sent  at  the 
same  meeting)  pressing  the  interests  of  the  young  lieutenant 
upon  his  attention.  Probably  to  Mr.  Harford's  extreme 
annoyance,  the  second  supplication  was  as  fruitless  as  the 
first. 

A  penny  postal  system  for  letters  and  small  parcels  was 
established  in  July,  1793,  for  the  accommodation  of  local 
business.  Several  parishes  around  the  city  were  included 
in  the  arrangement,  but  the  selection  w^as  capricious.  In 
some  cases  a  four-ounce  packet  was  transmitted  eighteen 
miles  for  a  penny,  while  to  other  places  within  that  distance 
such  a  parcel  incurred  a  postage  of  6s.  8d. 

The  most  tragical  local  incident  of  the  century,  the  Bristol 
Bridge  riots,  has  been  so  fully  narrated  by  Mr.  Pryce  and 


1793.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  501 

others  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  enter  into  lengthy  details. 
Although  the  popular  rising  cannot  be  justified,  it  is  equally 
clear  that  the  conduct  of  the  bridge  trustees  deserved  severe 
condemnation.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1785,  the 
authorities  were  entitled  to  collect  tolls  on  vehicles,  horses, 
etc.,  until  the  money  borrowed  had  been  paid  off,  and  a 
balance  of  £2,000  secured,  the  interest  on  which  was  to 
be  devoted  to  lighting  and  maintaining  the  bridge.  In 
September,  1792,  when  the  debt  had  been  reduced  to £B,600, 
the  trustees  had  a  sum  of  ii4,400  to  their  credit,  and  the  net 
income  of  the  following  year  was  estimated  at  £3,000.  The 
auctioneer  employed  to  let  the  tolls  and  the  solicitor  to  the 
trustees  consequently  informed  the  lessee  that  the  tolls 
would  cease  in  September,  1793  ;  and  this  statement,  which 
gave  satisfaction  to  the  citizens,  was  never  contradicted. 
Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  lease,  however,  the  trustees 
announced  that  the  tolls  would  be  let  for  another  twelve- 
month. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  required  balance  of  £2,000 
had  not  been  obtained,  and  the  authorities,  under  a  belief 
that  the  interest  of  that  sum  would  be  insufficient  to  keep 
the  bridge  in  repair,  wished  to  increase  the  capital  fund,  and 
so  avoid  the  expense  of  another  Act.  Had  this  been  explained 
to  the  city,  the  plan  might  have  won  a  certain  measure  of  ap- 
proval. But  the  acting  trustees,  most  of  whom  were  members 
of  the  Common  Council,  had  all  the  Corporation's  contempt 
for  popular  feeling,  as  well  as  its  abhorrence  of  popular  con- 
trol. Although  administering  revenues  entirely  drawn  from 
the  pockets  of  the  inhabitants,  they  had  refused  for  2B  years 
to  produce  their  accounts.  They  now  haughtily  refused  to 
enlighten  the  cit}^  as  to  their  purposes,  and  persisted  in  a  step 
exceeding  their  lawful  powers.  On  the  21st  September  the 
tolls  were  leased  for  another  year,  for  £1,920,  to  Wintour 
Harris,  an  underling  of  the  Corporation.  The  proper  method 
of  defeating  the  illegal  proceeding  would  have  been  an  appeal 
to  the  law  courts.  Unfortunately  a  small  body  of  citizens, 
who  had  already  taken  action,  resolved  to  meet  usurpation 
by  stratagem.  Believing  that  if  the  toll  were  once  sus- 
pended it  could  not  be  reimposed,  they  made  a  bargain 
with  the  lessee  of  the  previous  year  for  a  relinquishment  of 
his  rights  during  the  last  nine  days  of  the  term ;  and  on  the 
19th  September  the  bridge  was  thrown  open  and  traffic 
passed  toll-free  amidst  the  clamorous  joy  of  the  assembled 
populace,  which  made  a  bonfire  of  the  gates  and  toll-boards 
during  the  evening.  The  trustees,  greatly  exasperated, 
oifered   a  reward   on   the  20th   for   the   discovery  of  the 


502  THE   ANNALS  OF   BRISTOL  [1793. 

offenders,  pointing  out  that  the  destruction  of  the  toll- 
boards  was  a  capital  crime  ;  their  placard  further  asserted 
that  the  liabilities  of  the  trust  still  amounted  to  £2,600, 
which  they  did  not  offer  to  prove,  and  which  was  in  sub- 
stance untnie.  On  the  28th  workmen  were  employed  to 
erect  new  gates,  to  the  great  irritation  of  the  lower  classes, 
who  gathered  in  increasing  numbers  as  the  day  advanced ; 
and  at  night,  when  a  large  mob  had  assembled,  the  new 
barriers  were  set  on  fire  and  destroyed.  The  magistrates 
now  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  warned  the  rabble  as  to  the 
cons6  quences  of  further  rioting;  but  the  justices  were  roughly 
hustled  about,  and  their  remonstrances  were  received  with 
derision.  The  Riot  Act  was  consequently  read,  and  a  party 
of  the  Herefordshire  militia  was  sent  for  to  keep  order ;  but 
as  great  crowds  followed  the  troops  in  their  march  to  the 
spot,  the  tumult  soon  became  greater  than  ever,  and  the 
justices  and  soldiers  were  assailed  with  volleys  of  stones.  At 
length  the  militia  received  orders  to  fire,  and  one  man  was 
killed  and  two  or  three  others  wounded  by  a  volley,  which 
put  an  immediate  end  to  the  disorder.  At  noon  on  the  29th 
(Sunday),  when  the  old  lease  expired,  and  men  were  posted 
on  the  bridge  to  collect  tolls,  assisted  by  the  civil  power, 
tlie  spot  was  for  many  hours  a  scene  of  uproar  and  con- 
fusion, those  who  refused  to  pay  the  charge  being  seized  by 
the  constables,  and  often  incontinently  rescued  oy  crowds 
of  excited  spectators.  At  length  a  few  soldiers  were  brought 
down  to  support  the  toll-takers,  and  further  resistance  was 
abandoned.  On  Monday  morning,  however,  the  populace 
gathered  in  great  numbers,  and  the  disorders  of  the  previous 
day  were  renewed  with  increased  violence.  Some  of  the 
magistrates  were  early  in  attendance,  and  the  Riot  Act  was 
read  three  times,  a  warning  being  given  at  the  third  reading 
that  the  populace  must  disperse  within  an  hour.  The  notice 
being  disregarded,  the  militia  were  again  summoned,  and 
the  magistrates  superintended  the  collection  of  the  tolls 
until  about  six  o'clock,  when,  the  mob  having  diminished 
in  number,  they  withdrew,  accompanied  by  the  troops  and 
constabulary,  toll-collecting  being  abandoned  for  the  night. 
Their  retreat  was  almost  immediately  signalised  by  renewed 
rioting,  one  of  the  toll-houses  being  speedily  sacked,  and  the 
furniture  burnt  in  the  street ;  while  a  few  militiamen  sent 
back  to  protect  the  building  were  driven  off  by  volleys  of 
oyster  shells.  The  attitude  of  the  mob  now  became  very 
threatening,  and  when  the  magistrates,  supported  by  the 
troops,  again   repaired   to   the  bridge,  they  encountered  a 


1793.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  5l3 

storm  of  missiles,  accompanied  with  yells  of  defiance.     The 
justices,  after  commanding  the  populace  to  disperse,  and 
being  answered  by  more  stone-throwing,  ordered  tne  soldiers 
to  fire,  the  front  rank  discharging  their  muskets  at  their 
assailants  on  the  bridge,  while   the   rear,  changing  front, 
swept  the  crowd  that  was  attacking  them  from  High  Street. 
The   eflfects   of  repeated   volle3's,   followed   by   a   bayonet 
charge,    were    naturally    tragical.      Eleven    persons    were 
killed  or  mortally  wounded,  and   46  others  were  injured; 
and  as  is  always  the  case  in  such  calamities,  several  of  the 
suflferers  were  harmless  lookers-on,  two   being  respectable 
tradesmen  and  one  a  visitor.     The  riot,  however,  was  at  an 
end,  the  mob  flying  in  every  direction.     Judging  from  the 
opinions  expressed  by  the  coroners'  juries  on  the  following 
day  (October  1st),  the  conduct  of  the  bridge  trustees  and  the 
magistrates  was  condemned  by  many  citizens,  verdicts  of 
wilful  murder  by  persons  unknown  being  delivered  upon  ten 
of  the  bodies.    Possibly  excited  by  this  decision,  a  large  mob 
assembled  in  the  evening,  and  destroyed  the  windows  of  the 
Council  House  and  Guildhall.    Further  tumults  were  happily 
obviated  by  the  public  spirit  of  a  few  leading  citizens,  amongst 
whom  Messrs.  John  Thomas,  William  Elton,  Matthew  Wright 
and  John  Bally  were  most  prominent.     Those  gentlemen, 
raising  the  needful  amount  by  private  subscription,  purchased 
an  assignment  of  Harris's  lease,  paying  over  three  months' 
rent  to  the  trustees,  who  were  thus  enabled  to  purchase  £2,230 
in  Consols  after  discharging  all  their  liabilities.     The  tolls, 
never  collected  after  Monday's  bloodshed,  were  thus  defi- 
nitively abolished.    The  Corporation  condemned  this  arrange- 
ment as  a   dangerous   concession   to   the   populace,  but  its 
opposition  was  ineffectual.     The  civic  body,  however,  suc- 
cessfully thwarted  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Long  Fox,  an  eminent 
local  physician,  to  bring  the  conduct  of  the  trustees  before 
the  bar  of  public  opinion.     His  request  that  the  Guildhall 
might  be  granted  for  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  refused 
by  the   court  of   aldermen,  all  of  whom  were  themselves 
trustees.     Dr.  Fox  then  obtained  leave  to  use  the  Coopers' 
Hall,  but  through  corporate  intimidation  the  permission  was 
withdrawn,  and  a  similar  result  attended  his  engagement  of 
a  large  warehouse.     The  Corporation  next  successfully  exer- 
ted itself  to  prevent  a  public  subscription  for  the  families 
of  the  victims,  starting  at  the  same  time  a  fund  to  provide 
shoes  and  stockings  for  the  British  troops  in  Holland.     It 
next  commenced  an  action  for  libel  against  the  printer  of 
a  London  newspaper  called  the  Star^  which  had  published 


504  THE   ANNALS   OP  BRISTOL  [1793. 

a  letter  from  Bristol  accusing  Alderman  Daubeny  of  brutal 
conduct  during  the  disturbances  ;  but  the  only  apparent 
result  of  this  step  was  the  expenditure  of  about  £189  in  law 
costs.  As  will  shortly  be  shown,  the  Chamber  became  so 
unpopular  in  consequence  of  the  riots  that  it  was  found 
almost  impossible  for  several  years  to  induce  respectable 
inhabitants  to  accept  civic  honours. 

The  first  and  only  reference  to  street  watering  throughout 
the  centurj'  occurs  in  the  civic  accounts  for  September,  1793, 
when  ten  shillings  were  paid  for  two  years'  watering  before 
the  Council  House. 

During  the  year  1793,  Dr.  Thomas  Baddoes,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  Reader  in  Chemistry  at  the  University 
of  Oxford  from  1788  to  1792,  but  had  found  further  residence 
there  impracticable  owing  to  his  sympathy  with  the  French 
Republicans,  settled  in  Clifton,  with  a  view  to  establishing  a 
Pneumatic  Institute  for  the  treatment  of  diseases  by  inhala- 
tion. The  reputation  of  the  new  comer  as  a  vigorous  and 
original  thinker  was  already  considerable  in  cultivated 
circles,  and  his  fame  amongst  the  visitors  to  Clifton — 
amongst  whom  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  Earl  Stanhope, 
and  Mr.  Lambton,  father  of  the  first  Earl  of  Durham,  were 
then  conspicuous — soon  spread  amongst  the  Whig  inhabi- 
tants. The  apparatus  for  the  intended  experiment  was 
constructed  by  James  Watt,  £1,600  of  the  outlay  being  con- 
tributed by  Mr.  Lambton,  and  £1,000  by  Thomas  Wedgwood, 
who  removed  to  Clifton  to  enjoy  Beddoes's  society.  Sou  they 
and  Coleridge  were  also  close  friends  of  the  doctor,  whose 
talents  and  philanthropy  they  warmly  eulogised.  The  in- 
stitution was  at  length  opened  in  Dowry  Square  in  1798, 
and,  though  it  failed  in  its  professed  object,  it  is  memorable 
for  having  fostered  the  genius  of  young  Humphry  Davy, 
who  was  engaged  as  assistant,  and  who  tliere  discovered  the 
properties  of  nitrous-oxide  gas  in  1799,  to  Southey's  en- 
thusiastic delight.  Dr.  Beddoes  closed  the  institution  in 
1801,  and  died  in  December,  1808,  at  a  moment,  says  Davy, 
when  his  mind  was  purified  for  noble  affections  and  great 
works.  "  He  had  talents  which  would  have  raised  him  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  philosophical  eminence  if  they  had 
been  applied  with  discretion." 

In  a  treatise  entitled  "  Of  the  Hotwell  Waters,  near 
Bristol,"  by  John  Nott,  M.D.,  published  in  1793,  the  writer 
briefly  refers  to  "  the  newly  discovered  hot  spring  .  .  . 
discovered  some  few  years  since  on  Clifton  hill."  The  water 
of  Sion  Spring,  as  it  was  called,  was  obtained  by  driving  a 


1793-94.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  505 

shaft  through  the  limestone  to  the  depth  of  about  2B0  feet,  at 
a  great  expense  to  the  adventurer,  an  attorney,  named  Morgan. 
A  copious  store  being,  however,  reached  (the  spring  yielded 
nearly  34,030  gallons  daily),  a  steam  engine  was  erected  on 
the  premises,  supply  pipes  were  laid  to  many  neighbouring 
houses,  and  more  distant  customers  were  served  by  carts. 
Clifton  had  been  previously  deficient  in  springs,  and  Mr. 
Morgan  proved  a  local  benefactor.  As  the  temperature  of 
the  water  was  70  degrees,  or  nearly  as  high  as  that  of  the 
Hot  Well,  a  pump-room  was  erected  for  visitors,  and  in  June, 
1798,  Thomas  Bird  announced  that  he  had  fitted  up  the 
premises  at  a  great  expense,  and  had  also  provided  his 
patrons  with  hot  baths  and  a  reading  room.  Although  some 
physicians  had  declared  the  Sion  water  to  possess  all  the 
healing  properties  of  the  lower  well,  and  although  the 
spring  was  not  disturbed,  like  its  more  famous  rival,  by  the 
spring  tides  of  the  Avon,  the  place  was  never  successful  in 
attracting  visitors.  In  1803  the  pump  room,  "calculated  for 
any  genteel  business,"  was  advertised  to  be  let.  The  baths 
were  continued  for  some  years.  The  proprietor,  moreover, 
obtained  a  considerable  income  from  private  dwellings, 
over  300  being  eventually  furnished  with  a  supply  from  his 
property. 

A  duel  was  fought  on  the  10th  December,  1793,  in  a  field 
near  the  Montague  inn,  Kingsdown,  between  two  officers  of 
the  army.  Three  shots  were  fired  on  each  side,  and  one  of 
the  comoatants  nearly  lost  his  life  from  a  wound  in  the  leg. 
The  newspaper  report  states  that  the  encounter  was  witnessed 
by  a  number  of  spectators. 

Another  attempt  was  made  about  this  time  to  establish 
cotton  weaving  as  a  branch  of  local  industry.  An  advertise- 
ment of  the  Bristol  Cotton  Manufactory,  published  in  January, 
1794,  stated  that  the  proprietors  were  ofiering  for  sale  at  their 
warehouse,  adjoining  the  factory  in  Temple  Street,  a  large 
stock  of  calicoes,  bed  ticks,  etc.  The  concern  employed  about 
250  persons,  and  seventy  looms  were  at  one  time  in  opera- 
tion. A  small  factory  for  spinning  cotton  yarn  then  existed 
at  Keynsham.  The  Temple  Street  works  were  abandoned 
in  1806. 

Mr.  Burke,  the  recorder,  the  "  honest  Richard  "  of  Grold- 
smith's  "  Retaliation,''  having  died  in  February,  1794,  the 
Common  Council,  in  the  following  month,  appointed  Mr. 
Vicary  Gibbs  to  the  vacant  office.  The  new  functionary, 
who  was  knighted  on  becoming  one  of  the  law  officers  of 
the  Crown,  and  subsequently  attained  the  chief  justiceship 


506  THE   ANNALS   OF  BBI8T0L  [1794. 

of  the  Common  Pleas,  gained  the  name  of  "  Sir  Vinegar  " 
from  the  acrid  >ty  of  his  temper  and  the  sourness  of  his  lan- 
guage, which  spared  neither  htigants,  barristers  nor  crimi- 
nals. (The  unfortunate  Spencer  Perceval  asserted  on  one 
occasion  that  Gibbs's  nose  would  remove  iron-moulds  from 
linen.)  Soon  after  his  election,  the  Common  Council 
raised  the  annual  honorarium  of  the  recordership  from  60 
to  100  guineas. 

On  the  29th  April,  when  much  alarm  prevailed  owing  to 
the  French  threats  of  invasion,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Guildhall,  to  promote  measures  for  increasing  the  security  of 
the  country.  A  subscription  was  opened,  which  soon  reached 
nearly  £5,000,  and  it  was  resolved  to  raise  a  regiment  of 
infantry,  to  be  called  the  Loyal  Bristol  Regiment — subse- 
quently the  103rd  of  the  Line.  By  offering  a  bounty  of  6 
guineas  a  head,  684  men  were  soon  under  the  colours,  and 
the  Government  appointed  Lord  Charles  Somerset  lieutenant- 
colonel.  The  accounts  afterwards  published  showed  the 
following  disbursements : — Bounty,  £3,691 :  extra  accoutre- 
ments, 20*\  per  man,  £684 ;  colours  and  dinims,  £92 ;  drink 
to  men  on  embarking  at  Pill,  £30 ;  flags  and  ribbons  for  re- 
cruiting sergeants,  £22. 

Although  the  French  revolutionists  seemed  irresistible  on 
land,  they  were  no  match  for  the  English  navy.  During 
the  year,  to  the  great  joy  of  Bristolians,  the  principal  West 
India  colonies  of  the  enemy  fell  into  British  hands.  About 
the  end  of  April  the  capture  of  Martinico  was  announced ;  a 
few  weeks  later  the  bells  rang  a  whole  day  in  honour  of  the 
conquest  of  Guadaloupe,  and  early  in  July  there  were  similar 
rejoicings  at  the  fall  of  Port-au-Prince.  But  the  crowning 
naval  event  of  the  year  was  Lord  Howe's  famous  victory 
over  the  French  fleet  on  the  1st  June,  intelligence  of 
which  arrived  on  the  12th,  and  excited  transports  of  enthu- 
siasm. John  Weeks,  of  the  Bush  inn,  in  the  costume  of  a 
sailor,  proposed  loyal  toasts  through  a  speaking  trumpet 
from  the  balcony  of  his  house,  drinking  innumeraole 
bumpers  in  their  honour,  while  his  servants  distributed 
liquor  amongst  the  delighted  populace  below.  Li  the  even- 
ing the  city  was  illuminated. 

The  local  journals  of  the  28th  June  announced  that  Mr. 
T.  Davis  had  fitted  up  a  pump-room  at  the  mineral  spring 
at  the  Tennis  Court  house,  Hotwell  Road.  The  medicinal 
qualities  of  the  spa,  originally  discovered  about  1786,  were 
alleged  to  be  superior  to  those  of  Cheltenham  water,  and 
astonishing  cures  were  said  to  have  been  effected.     Hot  and 


1794.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  507 

cold  baths  were  subsequently  constructed — to  the  annoyance 
of  the  renter  of  the  neighbouring  cold  baths  at  Jacob's 
Wells,  who  invited  public  attention  to  the  superior  advan- 
tages of  his  establishment.  In  July,  1808,  the  spa,  with  its 
**  pleasant  garden  bordering  on  the  river,"  was  advertised  to 
be  let,  and  in  January,  1810,  the  premises  were  converted 
into  *4he  Mineral  Spa  coal  wharf,"  by  J.  Poole,  coal 
wharfinger.  The  Jacob's  Wells  baths  survived  their  rival 
for  half  a  century. 

The  Corporation  account  books  record  a  loan,  in  July,  1794, 
from  a  local  bank  of  which  no  previous  mention  has  been 
found.  The  proprietors — all  men  of  high  standing — were 
James  Ireland,  Philip  Protheroe,  Henry  Bengough,  Joseph 
Haythorne,  and  Matthew  Wright.  The  Bristol  City  Bank, 
as  it  was  called,  was  carried  on  at  46,  High  Street,  until 
1837,  when  the  goodwill  was  purchased  by  the  National  Pro- 
vincial Bank,  which  opened  a  branch  in  the  old  premises. 

Until  the  death  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  the  services  at 
the  local  Methodist  chapels  had  been  held  at  hours  which 
permitted  the  congregations  to  attend  their  parish  churches 
also.  In  the  autumn  of  1794,  many  Wesleyans,  disapprov- 
ing of  the  arrangement,-  urged  that  the  services  should  be 
held  simultaneously  with  those  of  the  churches,  while  others 
protested  against  any  change  in  Mr.  Wesley's  system.  The 
denomination  was  also  divided  on  another  point — the  cele- 
bration of  the  Communion — which  had  hitherto  been  con- 
ducted by  clergymen  who  had  received  episcopal  ordination, 
though  many  young  Wesleyans  contended  that  the  ordinary 
ministers  of  the  society  were  competent  for  its  performance. 
In  the  result,  the  more  fervent  followers  of  Wesley's  pre- 
cepts continued  to  observe  them  at  Broad  mead  and  Guinea 
Street  chapels,  whilst  their  opponents  assembled  at  Portland 
Chapel  and  other  meeting  houses.  A  dispute  followed  with 
the  trustees  of  the  chapel  in  the  Horsefair,  which  was  aban- 
doned in  1795  for  the  newly  erected  Ebenezer  in  King 
Street,  and  Wesley's  first  edince  was  opened  in  December, 
18(X),  for  "  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  Welsh  language." 

The  Common  Council,  in  September,  elected  Mr.  John 
Fisher  Weare  to  the  office  of  mayor.  On  his  refusal  to 
accept  the  dignity,  Mr.  Joseph  Harford  was  appointed,  but 
also  declined.  Mr.  Joseph  Smith  then  consented  to  serve. 
It  is  probably  significant  that  during  his  term  of  office  the 
yearly  allowance  made  to  each  mayor  was  raised  from  £1,000 
to  £1,200.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months,  three  influential 
citizens,  George  Gibbs,  Stephen  Cave,  and  Robert  Bush,  jun., 


508  THE   ANNALS  OF  BRISTOL  [1794. 

were  severally  elected  councillors,  but  declined  to  enter  the 
Chamber.  In  September,  1796,  Mr,  William  Weare  was 
elected  mayor,  but  followed  the  example  of  his  relative.  Mr. 
James  Harvey  was  then  induced  to  assume  the  dignity.  So 
great  was  the  difficulty  encountered  in  filling  vacancies  in 
the  Council  that  a  committee  was  appointed  early  in  1796 
to  consider  the  matter,  and  in  conformity  with  its  suggestion 
the  fine  for  refusing  office  was  increased  to  £300.  The  re- 
luctance of  the  citizens,  however,  was  not  overcome,  for 
Benjamin  Baugh,  Philip  John  Miles,  James  Brown,  Henry 
King,  and  John  Pinney  soon  afterwards  refused  to  serve  as 
councillors  after  being  elected.  A  new  embarrassment  arose 
about  the  same  time,  several  councillors  declining  to  vote 
when  questions  were  brought  to  a  division.  A  case  was  laid 
before  the  new  recorder,  to  elicit  his  opinion  as  to  how  the 
dumb  might  be  made  to  speak,  and  the  recalcitrants  appear 
to  have  submitted  to  Mr.  Gibbs's  implied  rebuke.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1796,  Mr.  Richard  Bright  and  Mr.  Evan  Baillie 
respectively  paid  the  fine  of  £400  rather  than  assume  the 
office  of  mayor,  and  Mr.  Harvey  remained  in  the  civic  chair 
for  another  twelvemonth.  A  little  later,  Thomas  Pierce, 
Michael  Castle,  and  Samuel  Edwards  refused  to  become 
councillors.  The  unpopularity  into  which  the  Corporation 
had  fallen  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  this  imperfect  sum- 
mary of  its  perplexities. 

Early  in  1794  a  thin  quarto  pamphlet  made  its  appear- 
ance entitled,  "  Bristol,  a  Satire."  The  anonymous  author, 
Robert  Lovell,  was  a  young  Quaker  of  some  talent,  who 
had  married  one  of  three  ladies  named  Fricker,  carrying  on 
business  as  milliners  in  Wine  Street,  his  two  sisters-in-law, 
as  will  presently  be  seen,  becoming  the  helpmates  of  poets 
of  more  lasting  fame.  Lovell's  satire  is  marked  rather  by 
spleen  than  force.  One  of  the  chief  complaints  which  he 
formulated  against 

Bristol's  matchless  sons, 
In  avarice  Dutchmen,  and  in  science  Huns, 

was  that  when  they  assembled  in  places  of  business  resort, 
their  conversation  rolled  exclusively  upon  business  topics 
and  commercial  news,  which  does  not  seem  a  striking  proof 
of  unintelligence.  He  rates  their  stinginess,  however,  in 
permitting  the  reconstruction  of  the  Infirmary  to  linger  on 
from  year  to  year  ;  he  mocks  their  stupidity  in  still  assem- 
bling on  'Change  in  Com  Street,  regardless  of  the  elegant 
building  raised  close  by  for  their  accommodation ;  and  he 
sneers  at  the  want  of  taste  of  a  community  that  refused  to 


1794.]  IN   THE   EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  -609 

enliven  its  dulness  by  supporting  winter  concerts,  though 
six  entertainments  had  been  offered  for  a  guinea  a  head. 
Some  scathing  lines  follow,  denouncing  the  oppression  prac- 
tised by  the  self-elected  Corporation,  which  claimed  by 
chartered  right  the  privilege  of  doing  wrong.  In  1796, 
Lovell,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother-in-law,  Southey, 
published  another  volume  of  "  Poems,"  now  much  prized 
for  its  rarity. 

The  coinage  in  1794  was  in  a  state  of  utter  disorganisation. 
The  silver  currency  having  become  worn  down  to  mere  slips 
of  metal,  the  manufacture  of  counterfeit  coin  became  the 
easiest  of  processes,  and  false  shillings  were  sold  wholesale 
to  knavish  traders,  waiters,  etc.,  at  the  rate  of  4*.  6d.  for 
twenty.  The  counterfeiting  of  halfpence  had  been  going 
on  for  some  years,  but  received  a  new  impulse  from  the 
silver  frauds.  Unscrupulous  employers,  buying  largely  from 
the  coiners,  paid  away  the  worthless  metal  in  wages  to  their 
workmen,  and  similar  iniquity  was  only  too  common  amongst 
low  shopkeepers,  turnpike  men,  and  others.  The  evil  be- 
came so  great  that  the  Bristol  newspaper  proprietors  an- 
nounced that  halfi)ence  would  not  be  accepted  by  their 
newsmen.  Some  local  tradesmen  adopted  an  opposite  course, 
offering  to  receive  payments  in  any  coin,  but  of  course  pro- 
tecting themselves  from  loss  by  an  unavowed  increase  of 
prices.  Two  shopkeepers,  again,  Mr.  Niblock,  draper.  Bridge 
Street,  and  Mr.  Bird,  tea-dealer.  Wine  Street,  issued  half- 
pence bearing  their  respective  names.  Genuine  silver  coins 
showing  any  trace  of  the  royal  eflSgy  were  hoarded,  or  sold 
at  a  premium,  until  at  length,  in  1796,  there  was  such  a 
scarcity  of  change  as  to  impede  ordinary  business.  The 
production  by  forgers  then  became  immense.  On  the  11th 
March,  1796,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Guildhall  to  take 
measures  to  meet  the  evil.  There  being  reason  to  believe 
that  some  inhabitants  had  leagued  themselves  with  the 
coiners  in  order  to  plunder  the  public,  it  was  resolved  to 
offer  rewards  for  the  discovery  of  the  offenders.  The  device 
was  fruitless,  and  the  frauds  increased  enormously  during 
the  year,  the  London  Times  remarking  in  October  that 
scarce  a  waggon  or  coach  left  the  capital  that  did  not  carry 
boxes  of  base  coin  to  the  provincial  towns,  "  insomuch  that 
the  country  is  deluged  with  counterfeit  money.''  A  large 
supply  of  new  copper  coin  was  at  length  furnished  in  1797. 

In  July  or  August,  1794,  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  who 
had  just  conceived  a  sublime  scheme  for  the  regeneration 
of  humanity,  and  had  inoculated  a  few  youthful  associates 


519  THE   ANNALS   OF   BBI8TOL  [1794. 

with  his  own  enthusiasm  as  to  its  success,  visited  Bristol 
with  some  of  his  disciples,  for  the  purpose  of  starting  the 
enterprise.  It  was  proposed  to  establish  a  philosophical 
and  social  colony,  or  Pantisocracy,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Susquehanna,  in  the  United  States,  where  a  select  body  of 
incorruptible  and  cultivated  men  and  women  would  secure 
felicity  for  themselves,  whilst  striving  to  regenerate  an 
effete  civilisation  by  a  revival  of  the  communism  of  primi- 
tive Christianity.  (The  choice  of  the  locality,  it  is  said,  was 
mainly  due  to  the  poetical  beauty  of  the  river's  name.) 
Amongst  the  propounder's  most  zealous  supporters  were  the 
Bristol-bom  Robert  Southey,  then  an  Oxford  student  dis- 
gusted with  the  Toryism  and  orthodoxy  of  his  university, 
the  young  Bristol  Quaker,  Robert  Lovell,  already  noticed, 
and  George  Burnett,  the  son  of  a  Somerset  farmer.  Other 
converts  were  expected  to  arrive  from  the  universities. 
Coleridge,  with  Southey  and  Burnett,  lodged  in  the  mean- 
time at  48,  College  Street.  [The  numbering  of  the  street  has 
been  altered,  but  the  house  in  question  now  bears  a  tablet 
commemorating  Coleridge's  visit.]  The  dreams  of  the 
youthful  philosophers  were  soon  roughly  disturbed  by  an 
encounter  with  the  harsh  realities  of  life.  They  had  come 
to  Bristol  to  provide  themselves  with  the  needful  equipage 
for  their  proposed  Elysium,  the  hire  of  a  ship  an^l  the  out- 
lay for  stores  being  calmly  estimated  by  Coleridge  at  about 
£1,2CX).  Their  combined  funds,  however,  were  so  limited 
that,  in  order  to  pay  a  lodging  bill  for  seven  weeks,  they 
were  compelled  to  ask  for  a  loan  of  £5  from  Joseph  Cottle, 
poet  and  bookseller,  who  then  occupied  an  old  house  (after- 
wards burnt  down)  at  the  corner  of  High  Street  and  Com 
Street.  Cottle's  liberality  to  the  enthusiasts  will  be  remem- 
bered long  after  his  prosy  poetry  is  forgotten.  He  not  only 
relieved  their  immediate  distress,  but,  with  a  generosity 
uncommon  in  his  trade,  offered  to  give  Coleridge  and 
Southey — then  unknown  to  the  public — the  sum  of  £30 
each  for  two  volumes  of  poems,  following  up  this  proposal 
by  promising  Southey  100  guineas  (in  money  and  books)  for 
"  Joan  of  Arc,"  from  which  the  author — a  lifelong  victim  of 
self-admiration — anticipated  immortal  fame.  Coleridge  and 
Southey  next  proposed  to  improve  their  resources  by  deliver- 
ing lectures  in  Bristol,  the  former  choosing  political  and 
moral  subjects,  whilst  his  friend  discoursed  on  history. 
Coleridge's  first  two  lectures  were  delivered  at  the  Plume  of 
Feathers  inn.  Wine  Street ;  others  were  given  at  the  Cheese 
Market,  and  in  a  room  in  Castle  Green  ;  and  several  at  the 


1794.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  511 

Assembly    Boom  Coffee-house,  on   the    Quay.     Southey's 
twelve  lectures  ("  tickets  for  the  whole  course  10*.  6d.")  were 
delivered  in  the  Assembly  Boom,  and  were,  like  the  others, 
well   attended,   in  spite    of    the    unpopular  political    and 
religious  opinions  of  the  two  orators.     Although  Coleridge 
gladly  availed  himself  of  advances  from  Cottle,  the  manu- 
script of  his  poems  was  not  forthcoming  for  many  months. 
The  dreamy  philosopher,  in  fact,  was  in  love,  so  far  as  was 
compatible  with  his  peculiar  nature.     Every  Pantisocratist, 
indeed,   was  to   be   married,  for  in   the   ideal   society    the 
women  were  to  busy  themselves  with  material  affairs,  in 
order  to  leave  the  men  at  leisure  to  philosophise  and  versify 
at  their  ease.     A  sort  of  matrimonial  epidemic  accordingly 
broke  out  in  the  family  of  Mrs.  Fricker,  a  schoolmistress  on 
Bedcliff  Hill,  who  had  five  marriageable  daughters.     Lovell 
had  already  married  one  of  the  young  ladies,  Southey  was 
engaged  to  another,   an  unnamed   Pantisocratist   had  laid 
siege  to  a  third,  who  was  too  practical-minded   to  accept 
him,  and  in  October,   1796,  Coleridge  was  married  at  St. 
Mary   Bedcliff    church    to   a   fourth,   named    Sarah.       A 
cottage  at  the  then  secluded  village  of  Clevedon  had  been 
engaged  for  the  young  couple  at  a  rent  of  £5  yearly,  but 
Coleridge  treated  the  question  of  furnishing  with  character- 
istic  contempt,  and   two   days  after  the   marriage   Cottle 
received  a  hurried  epistle  requesting  him  to  buy  and  for- 
ward an  assortment  of   domestic   necessaries,  including  a 
tea-kettle,  a  couple  of  candlesticks,  a  dust-pan,  two  tumblers, 
two  spoons,  a  cheese  toaster,  a  pair  of  slippers,  a  keg  of 
porter,  and  some  groceries.     Even   a  bit  of  carpet  would 
have  been  wanting  but  for  the  thoughtfulness  of  a  friend. 
A  Pantisocratic  life  was  thus  lived   for   the   first  time  in 
beautiful  simplicity.     But  a   residence   twelve  miles  from 
books  and  society  was  soon  found  untenable,  and  Coleridge 
removed  to  Bedcliff  Hill  in  December.     Bobert  Southey  had 
already  followed   the   example   of   his   companion,   having 
married  Edith  Fricker  in  November ;  but  in  this  case  the 
couple  separated  at  the  door  of  Bedcliff  Church,  and  the 
young  husband — so  poor  as  to  be  unable  to  buy  a  wedding 
ring  without  Cottle's  help — immediately  sailed  for  Lisbon. 
His  desertion  gave  the  finishing  blow  to  the  Pantisocratic 
system,  for  Coleridge's  promise  of  a  book  in  defence  of  his 
social  reform — like  many  other  similar  promises — was  never 
fulfilled.     He  was  temporarily  diverted,   indeed,   from  his 
dreams  by  the  action  of  the  Ministry,  who,  by  their  own 
admission,  determined  to  revive  the  despotic  legislation  of 


512  THE   ANNALS  OF   BUISTOL  [1794. 

the  Tudors.  Two  Bills  were  brought  into  Parliament  and 
speedily  passed,  by  one  of  which  any  person  who,  by  speech 
or  writing,  should  incite  "  contempt  '^  of  the  Government 
or  of  the  unreformed  House  of  Uommons  was  rendered 
liable  to  transportation  for  seven  years ;  while  by  the  other 
the  right  of  public  meeting  was  practically  set  aside,  and 
the  penalty  of  death  was  incurred  by  any  twelve  persons 
who  remained  assembled,  even  in  a  peaceable  manner,  for 
one  hour  after  a  magistrate  had  ordered  them  to  disperse. 
Against  proposals  which  he  deemed  monstrous,  Coleridge 
was  aroused  to  protest  warmly.  He  delivered  an  address  on 
the  26th  November  "  in  the  Great  Room,  at  the  Pelican  inn, 
Thomas  Street ;  admission,  one  shilling;  "  and  followed  this 
up  by  two  pamphlets,  "  Conciones  ad  Populum,''  and  "  The 
Plot  Discovered,'^  in  which  he  emphatically  denounced  the 
tyrannical  policy  of  Mr.  Pitt.  (According  to  Mr.  Fitzgerald, 
the  ablest  authority  on  the  subject,  Coleridge  was  at  this 
period  constantly  "  overshadowed  "  by  one  of  the  Bxmj  of 
spies  maintained  by  the  Government.)  Various  literary 
projects  were  next  contemplated,  Coleridge  eventually 
resolving  to  publish  a  periodical  miscellany,  *'to  supply  the 
places  of  a  review,  newspaper  and  annual  register."  About 
370  subscribers  were  obtained  in  Bristol ;  the  roll  was 
increased  to  1,000  by  a  canvass  made  by  the  author  himself 
in  the  great  manufacturing  towns ;  and  on  the  1st 
March,  1796,  the  first  number  was  issued  of  The  Watchman^ 
price  four-pence,  which  was  to  appear  every  eighth  day,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  heavy  tax  on  newspapers.  About  half 
the  subscribers,  however,  were  lost  by  the  publication  in  the 
second  number  of  an  article  on  public  fasts,  containing  an 
unlucky  Scriptural  quotation  (*'  My  bowels  shall  sound  like 
a  harp,"  Isaiah  xvi.) ;  the  two  next  alienated  the  admirers 
of  the  French  Republic  ;  and  the  tenth  intimated  that  The 
Watchman  had  run  its  course,  as  "  the  work  did  not  pay  its 
expenses."  The  loss  entailed  by  the  publication  was  chiefly 
borne  by  Cottle.  Coleridge,  in  the  meantime,  had  removed 
from  Redcliff  Hill  to  Kingsdown,  where  his  son  Hartley  was 
born.  He  was  at  this  period  an  occasional  preacher  in 
Unitarian  chapels,  and  Cottle  gives  an  account  of  two 
characteristic  performances  in  a  Bath  pulpit,  where  the 
philosopher,  attired  in  a  blue  coat  and  white  waistcoat, 
scared  away  the  congregations  by  discoursing  on  the  corn 
laws  and  the  new  tax  on  hair  powder.  During  the  summer, 
urged  by  his  friend  Mr.  Thomas  Poole,  of  Nether  Stowey, 
he  removed  to  a  cottage  at  that  place,  and  his  preaching 


1.794.]  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  513 

came  to  an  end.  In  1797,  Cottle  published  a  second  edition 
of  Coleridge^s  poems,  to  which  were  added  several  pieces  by 
his  young  friends,  Charles  Lamb  and  Charles  Lloyd.  In  the 
same  year,  Coleridge  published  in  a  Bristol  newspaper  a 
poem  on  the  death  of  Burns,  which  resulted  in  a  handsome 
local  contribution  to  the  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  poet's 
family.  In  1798,  Mr.  Thomas  Wedgwood,  then  residing 
at  Cote  House,  Durdham  Down,  determined,  in  conjunction 
with  his  brother  Josiah,  to  allow  Coleridge  £160  yearly  for 
life,  and  the  munificent  gift  led  to  the  recipient's  departure 
from  the  West  of  England.  Before  leaving  for  Germany 
with  Wordsworth,  who  had  also  been  living  near  Stowey, 
Coleridge  induced  Cottle  to  give  30  guineas  for  another 
volume  of  poems,  containing  the  Lyrical  Ballads  of  his  new 
friend  (Wordsworth's  first  work),  and  his  own  immortal 
"Ancient  Mariner."  The  book  fell  almost  still- bom  from 
the  press,  and  the  enterprising  publisher,  who  soon  after- 
wards retired  from  business,  was  informed  by  Messrs.  Long- 
man that  the  copyright  was  valueless.  The  sufferer  pre- 
sented it  to  Wordsworth,  and  afterwards  consoled  himself 
for  his  loss  by  reminding  the  public  that  he,  a  Bristol 
tradesman,  had  secured  himself  the  fame — rejected  by  the 
great  London  houses — of  publishing  the  first  works  of  four 
of  the  most  eminent  writers  of  his  generation. 

An  accident  illustrating  the  dangers  of  the  harbour 
occurred  on  the  24th  September,  1794.  The  Esther,  a  new 
ship,  which  had  just  arrived  from  Barbadoes  with  a  cargo 
of  619  hhds.  of  sugar  and  other  goods,  fell  on  her  beam  ends 
at  ebb  tide,  and  the  whole  of  her  contents,  valued  at  many 
thousand  pounds,  was  practically  destroyed.  The  captain 
and  crew  had  displayed  remarkable  gallantry  a  few  days 
before  reaching  Kingroad.  The  Esther,  which  had  only  18 
men  and  3  boys,  was  attacked  by  a  French  privateer  with 
20  six-pounders  and  about  140  men,  but  after  an  engage- 
ment lasting  from  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  until  9  the 
following  morning,  the  determined  resistance  of  the  English- 
men forced  the  enemy  to  sheer  off. 

A  curiously  shaped  coach,  running  upon  eight  wheels,  was 
introduced  into  the  district  about  this  time.  Two  of  the 
vehicles  were  running  daily  between  Bristol  and  Bath  in 
November,  1794,  carrying  outside  passengers  at  Is,  and 
inside  at  2.s\  each,  and  performing  the  journey  in  2^  hours. 
Southey  mentions  a  Bristol  coach  to  Birmingham  carrying 
16  persons  inside,  which  must  have  been  constructed  on  the 
same  principle. 

L   L 


514  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1794-95. 

The  Incorporation  of  the  Poor,  in  spite  of  former  failures, 
determined  in  1794  to  establish  a  manufactqry  at  the  work- 
house for  the  employment  of  the  youthful  inmates.  The 
making  of  flannels  having  been  resolved  upon,  a  building 
for  the  purpose  was  erected  at  St.  Peter's  Hospital.  In 
1799  it  was  reported  that  raw  material  had  been  purchased 
at  a  cost  of  £1,660,  while  the  total  sum  obtained  for  the 
manufactured  goods  was  only  £1,394.  The  factory  was 
thereupon  closed,  the  premises  being  converted  into  wards 
for  the  greatly  increased  number  of  paupers. 

The  refusal  of  sailors  to  enter  the  navy  led  to  an  unusual 
stretch  of  power  in  February,  1796.  By  an  Order  in  Council 
an  embargo  was  placed  on  the  merchant  shipping  and  trows 
lying  in  the  ports,  and  an  Act  was  passed  in  the  following 
month,  ordaining  that  no  British  vessel  should  be  permitted 
to  clear  outwards  until  the  port  at  which  it  lay  had 
furnished  the  navy  with  the  number  of  seamen  prescribed 
in  the  statute.  The  numbers  fixed  for  the  chief  ports  afford 
only  too  striking  evidence  of  the  comparative  decline  of 
Bristol  shipping.  London  was  required  to  find  B,704  men  ; 
Liverpool,  1,711 ;  Newcastle,  1,240 ;  Hull,  731 ;  the  Clyde 
ports,  683 ;  Sunderland,  669 ;  Bristol,  666.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  show  the  relative  positions  of  the  other  local 
ports.  Gloucester  was  required  to  furnish  28  men  ;  Chepstow 
(of  which  Newport  was  a  creek),  38 ;  Cardiff*,  14  ;  Bridgwater, 
26  ;  Minehead,  18  ;  Swansea,  86  ;  and  Ilfracombe,  49.  To 
quicken  the  recruiting,  the  Admiralty  offered  bounties  of  26 
guineas  a  head  to  able  seamen,  20  guineas  to  ordinary 
seamen,  and  16  guineas  to  landsmen.  The  Bristol  con- 
tingent (half  of  the  men  being  landsmen)  was  completed  in 
May,  when  the  embargo  was  removed.  By  another  Act, 
passed  in  the  same  session,  a  further  levy  of  men  was  made 
upon  the  kingdom  generally,  Gloucestershire,  including 
Bristol,  being  required  to  produce  201.  (The  Corporation 
was  greatly  offended  at  the  city  being  included  in  the 
shire,  and  refused  to  co-operate  with  the  county  authorities.) 
The  manner  in  which  the  demand  was  met  is  shown  by  the 
minutes  of  the  vestry  of  St.  Stephen's  parish,  the  clerk 
being  ordered  on  the  10th  September  to  make  a  rate  to  raise 
£60  13«.  6d,  "  to  pay  bounties  to  three  seamen  raised  by  the 
parish  for  the  use  of  his  Majesty's  Navy."  The  recruitment 
of  the  army  presented  similar  difficulties.  The  Crown 
debtors  in  Bristol  and  other  gaols  were  offered  their  liberty 
provided  they  would  join  a  marching  regiment,  and  in 
October  a  number  of  felons  awaiting   transportation  were 


1795.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  515 

treated  in  the  same  manner.  The  unpopularity  of  the 
forces  was  largely  due  to  the  abuses  that  prevailed.  In 
the  course  of  the  year  the  Duke  of  York,  commander  in 
chief,  issued  a  circular  to  the  colonels  of  regiments,  demand- 
ing a  return  to  be  made  of  the  number  of  captaincies  held 
by  boys  under  12  years  of  age — many  commissions  being  in 
fact  sinecures  enjoyed  by  lads  at  school. 

The  manufacture  of  cloth,  once  the  most  important  of 
local  industries,  rapidly  declined  during  the  later  years  of 
the  century,  scarcely  any  attempt  having  been  made  to 
compete  with  the  Yorkshire  clothiers  in  the  production  of 
more  popular  fabrics.  A  Bristol  cloth  mill  "  at  the  One  Mile 
Stone,  Stapleton  Road,"  was  oflFered  for  sale  in  March,  1796, 
and  is  the  last  mentioned  in  the  newspapers. 

The  following  amusing  illustration  of  the  lawlessness  of 
the  Kingswood  district  has  been  found  in  the  London  Tinien 
of  April,  179B.  "  Monday  last,  two  bailiffs'  followers  made 
a  seizure  for  rent  at  a  house  in  Kingswood,  near  Bristol.  An 
alarm  being  given,  they  were  surrounded  by  a  number  of 
colliers,  who  conveyed  them  to  a  neighbouring  coal-pit,  and 
let  them  down,  where  they  were  suffered  to  remain  till  about 
2  the  next  morning,  when  they  were  had  up,  and,  each 
having  a  glass  of  gin  and  some  gingerbread  given  him,  were 
immersed  again  in  the  dreary  bowels  of  the  earth,  where 
they  were  confined,  in  all,  nearly  24  hours.  On  being  re- 
leased they  were  made  to  pay  a  fine  of  Qs.  8d.  each  for  their 
lodging,  and  take  an  oath  never  to  trouble,  or  molest,  any  of 
them  again." 

The  use  of  starch  or  flour  for  "  powdering  "  the  hair  was 
long  universal  amongst  the  upper  and  middle  classes  of  both 
sexes.  A  duty  of  3\d.  per  lb.  was  imposed  on  starch  in  1787, 
and  produced  a  considerable  sum.  In  179B,  Mr.  Pitt,  fancying 
that  he  could  raise  a  still  greater  revenue  out  of  hair  powder, 
placed  a  tax  on  those  who  adopted  it ;  but  merely  hastened 
a  reform  which  was  already  imminent.  Powdering  having 
been  dropped  in  France  at  the  Revolution,  many  youthful 
Englishmen  followed  the  example ;  and  when  a  succession 
of  bad  harvests  raised  flour  to  a  famine  price,  the  absurdity 
of  diminishing  the  food  supply  for  the  sake  of  disfiguring  a 
natural  ornament  was  soon  widely  recognised.  A  corres- 
pondent of  Felix  Farlexf  8  Journal  of  the  16th  May  estimated 
the  cost  of  powder  to  be  at  least  3  guineas  per  head  yearly, 
and  suggested  that  the  amount  saved  by  giving  it  up  should 
be  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  distressed  poor.  Strangely 
enough,  the  military  authorities  persisted  for  some  years  in 


/ 


516  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1795. 

requiring  the  infantry  and  militia  to  powder  their  heads,  and 
when  volunteering  became  popular,  in  1797,  the  Government 
sought  to  encourage  the  movement  by  exempting  citizen 
soldiers  from  the  tax  on  hair  powder. 

The  distress  caused  by  the  dearth  was  exceeding  great, 
and  every  class  was  required  to  make  sacrifices  happily  un- 
known to  a  later  age.  The  harvest  of  the  year  proved  even 
more  deficient  than  that  of  1794,  and  George  III.  gave 
orders  that  the  bread  used  in  his  household  should  be  made 
of  mixed  wheat  and  rye,  an  example  extensively  followed. 
The  families  of  small  tradesmen  and  working  men  were  re- 
duced to  eat  a  bread  composed  of  equal  proportions  of  flour 
and  potatoes.  But  even  food  of  this  kind  was  above  the 
reach  of  the  poor,  who  were  occasionally  driven  to  des- 
peration by  hunger,  and  on  June  6th  the  populace  at- 
tacked the  butchers'  shops  in  the  High  Street  Market, 
carried  oif  a  quantity  of  meat,  and  sacked  a  (baker's  ?)  shop. 
Riots  also  occurred  in  the  eastern  suburbs,  and  the  Kings- 
wood  colliers  seized  several  cartloads  of  corn  on  the  way  to 
market.  But  all  these  incidents  were  unreported  in  the 
newspapers,  from  a  foolish  dread  that  publicity  might  tend 
to  increase  the  disorders.  Our  information  on  the  subject  is 
chiefly  derived  from  the  civic  minute  books  : — "  June  26 : 
Expenses  incurred  during  the  late  riots  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  this  city,  £119  6^.  9d.  " ;  "Sept.  5,  Resolved  that 
an  additional  sum  of  £500  be  paid  to  the  mayor  in  considera- 
tion of  extra  expenses  by  a  military  force  being  called  in  to 
suppress  the  riots  caused  by  the  high  price  of  provisions." 
In  July  a  public  meeting  was  held  to  take  measures  for  re- 
lieving the  distress,  at  which  it  was  announced  that  the 
sheriffs  would  curtail  the  entertainments  given  at  the  assizes, 
and  contribute  the  cost  of  one  banquet  (£120)  to  the  fund. 
Large  subscriptions  were  offered,  and  daily  distributions  of 
rice  and  other  grain  at  reduced  prices  were  soon  after  estab- 
lished. The  Corporation  ordered  the  purchase  of  several  car- 
goes of  wheat  and  flour,  which  were  sold  to  bakers  at  prime 
cost,  the  loss  incurred  by  these  transactions  being  more  than 
covered  by  sales  at  market  price  to  the  distressed  inhabi- 
tants of  the  adjoining  counties.  In  August  the  average  price 
of  wheat  rose  to  the  unprecedented  sum  of  106s,  9d.  per  quar- 
ter. The  magistrates  had  already  forbidden  the  manufacture 
of  bread  made  from  fine  flour,  and  for  nearly  two  years  more 
(the  harvest  of  1796  being  also  a  failure)  wheat  had  to  be 
largel}^  supplemented  by  barley,  peas,  rice,  and  potatoes. 

One  of  the  consequences  of  the  dearth  was  a  great  advance 


1795-96.]       IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  ^17 

in  the  charges  of  boarding  schools.  In  September,  1795,  Mr. 
George  Pocock  opened  a  boarding  school  on  St.  Michael's 
Hill,  where  his  fee  for  boys  was  26  guineas  each  per  annum. 
Pocock  was  a  man  of  great  mechanical  ingenuity.  His  kite 
carriage  is  described  in  the  Annals  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century.  Southey  states  that  he  also  invented  a  machine 
for  thrashing  his  scholars,  which  they  called  a  "  royal  patent 
self-acting  ferule.'' 

The  ill-fated  marriage  of  George,  Prince  of  Wales,  seems 
to  have  provoked  little  rejoicing.  The  corporate  cash  book, 
however,  records  a  payment  of  £124  Gs.  lOd,,  "expenses 
attending  the  presentation  of  an  address  to  the  King,  and 
compliments  to  the  Prince  on  the  occasion."  The  cost  of 
the  civic  deputations  was  mainly  due  to  the  mode  in  which 
they  travelled.  Three  post  chaises,  each  with  four  horses, 
were  engaged  for  the  aldermen,  sheriffs,  and  chief  officers, 
and  a  mysterious  chariot  followed.  The  journey  each  way 
occupied  three  days,  and  as  turtle  was  carried  in  the  chariot, 
the  aldermen  could  not  trust  the  delicacy  to  the  country 
kitchen-maids,  and  the  fish  kettle  was  accompanied  by  a 
skilful  cook  and  all  his  implements. 

The  commerce  of  the  country  was  still  largely  carried  on 
in  vessels  the  dwarfishness  of  which  would  now  excite 
astonishment.  Many  of  the  Bristol  ships  that  conveyed  emi- 
grants to  America  did  not  exceed  100  tons  registered  burden. 
Feli^  Farletfs  Journal  of  July  25th,  1795,  reports  the  arrival 
in  Kingroad  of  a  vessel  "called  the  Jenny,  of  75  tons,  the 
property  of  S.  Teast,  Esq.,  afler  making  a  voyage  round  the 
w^orld  in  one  year  and  ten  months.''  The  commerce  of  the 
port  diminished  greatly  during  the  early  years  of  the  war. 
In  1792  the  vessels  paying  mayor's  dues  n  umbered  480.  In 
1796  the  total  was  only  304. 

On  the  27th  November  the  Duke  of  York,  after  reviewing 
two  militia  regiments  on  Durdham  Down,  paid  a  visit  to 
Bristol,  and  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city.  A 
grand  dinner  followed  at  the  Mansion  House,  for  which  the 
mayor  was  voted  an  additional  allowance  of  £212. 

Mention  was  made  at  page  256  of  the  gunpowder  maga- 
zine at  Tower  Harritz,  from  which  privateers  and  merchant 
vessels  obtained  supplies  of  ammunition.  In  despite  of  its 
perilous  character,  the  magazine  existed  down  to  the  close  of 
the  century,  and  was  so  carelessly  guarded  that  in  April, 
1796,  its  owners,  Messrs.  Elton,  Ames  and  Co.,  offered  a  re- 
ward for  the  discovery  of  thieves  who  had  broken  into  the 
premises  and  stolen  four  barrels  of  powder. 


518  THE   ANNALS   OF    BRISTOL  [179G. 

A  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place  in  May,  1796,  when 
the  Marquis  of  Worcester  withdrew  from  Bristol  to  offer 
himself  for  Gloucestershire.  Mr.  Charles  Bragge  came  for- 
ward in  the  Tory  interest.  Lord  Sheffield  solicited  reelection, 
but  had  lost  the  confidence  of  many  Whigs  owing  to  his 
support  of  all  the  Government  measures,  especially  those  for 
susj>ending  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  and  restricting  the  liberty 
of  the  press.  The  dissidents  accordingly  brought  forward 
M  •.  Benjamin  Hobhouse,  a  native  of  Bristol,  and  member  of 
the  Merchants'  Company.  [Mr.  Hobhouse's  son,  long  after- 
wards created  Baron  Broughton  for  distinguished  political 
services,  was  at  this  time  being  educated  in  the  famous 
school  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Estlin  on  St.  Michael's 
Hill].  A  coalition  was  immediately  formed  between  the 
Tory  leaders  and  the  friends  of  Lord  Sheffield,  who  were 
numerous  in  the  Corporation.  The  nomination  took  place 
on  the  27th  May,  and  the  poll  opened  on  the  same  day,  when 
Mr.  Bragge  received  364  votes.  Lord  Sheffield  340,  and  Mr. 
Hobhouse  102.  The  last  named  gentleman  withdrew  the 
same  evening,  but  the  eccentric  David  Lewis,  for  whom  two 
votes  had  been  tendered,  kept  the  poll  open  for  several  hours 
on  the  following  daj'.  The  final  figures  were — Mr.  Bragge, 
714  ;  Lord  Sheffield,  679;  Mr.  Hobhouse,  102  ;  Mr  Lewis,  4. 
The  freemen  were  afterwards  feasted  at  the  joint  expense  of 
the  new  members.  Lord  Sheffield  was  unpopular  amongst 
the  labouring  classes,  and,  in  consequence  of  the  prominent 
part  taken  on  his  behalf  by  the  mayor  and  some  of  the  alder- 
men, a  mob  demolished  the  windows  of  the  Mansion  House, 
of  the  Council  House,  and  of  the  Bush  hotel  (Lord  Sheffield's 
headquarters). 

Trinity  Chapel,  appertaining  to  Barstaple's  Hospital  in 
Old  Market  Street,  was  rebuilt  during  the  summer  at  a  cost 
of  £454.  The  mean  and  ugly  structure  produced  for  this  sum 
has  been  since  demolished  in  its  turn. 

An  illustration  of  the  ecclesiastical  abuses  of  the  time 
occurs  in  the  minutes  of  a  Common  Council  meeting  held  on 
the  3rd  October.  A  memorial  was  presented  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Atwell  Small,  D.D.,  incumbent  of  St.  James's  and 
vicar  of  St.  PauFs,  representing  that  he  had  been  offered 
two  vicarages  in  Monmouthshire,  but  that  his  acceptance  of 
them  would  not  only  cause  him  to  vacate  the  rectory  of 
Burnsall,  Yorkshire,  but  jeopardise  his  right  to  hold  his  two 
livings  in  Bristol.  He  therefore  prayed  the  Chamber  to 
guarantee  him  against  this  further  deprivation,  and  the 
Council  complaisantly  resolved  that  no  advantage  should  be 


1796-97.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUBT.  519 

taken  of  the  possible  avoidance  of  the  two  incumbencies. 
Dr.  Small,  who  also  held  a  prebend  at  Gloucester,  presented 
another  modest  petition  in  June,  1799.  It  set  forth  that  he 
desired  to  exchange  the  living  of  St.  James's  for  the  vicar- 
age of  Congresbury  and  chapelry  of  Wick  St.  Lawrence 
(held  by  the  Rev.  T.  T.  Biddulph).  If  permission  to  do  so 
were  granted,  he  undertook  to  exchange  his  two  Monmouth- 
shire livings  for  the  rectory  of  Whitestauiiton,  Somerset,  and 
he  prayed  the  Chamber  to  permit  him  to  remain  in  posses- 
sion of  the  vicarage  of  St.  Paul's,  Bristol.  The  Corporation 
assented  to  all  the  requests  of  the  reverend  pluralist.  More- 
over, when  he  subsequently  died  insolvent,  his  "  dilapida- 
tions "  at  Congresbury  were  defrayed  out  of  the  civic 
purse. 

The  West  India  trade  of  the  port  fell  off  to  a  surprising 
extent  during  the  later  years  of  tne  century.  Out  of  a  fleet 
of  a  hundred  Jamaica  merchantmen  convoyed  by  the  Royal 
Navy  in  1796,  only  7  vessels  belonged  to  Bristol,  66  hailing 
from  London,  and  28  from  Liverpool.  In  the  Leeward  Is- 
lands fleet  of  97  ships  in  the  same  year,  the  Bristol  vessels 
numbered  only  14.  In  1797  the  Jamaica  fleet  comprised  144 
merchantmen,  of  which  17  were  bound  for  Bristol,  while  in 
1798  the  Bristol  ships  numbered  16  out  of  160.  Owing  to 
the  amazing  decline  in  imports,  the  local  sugar  refineries 
had  to  look  for  supplies  in  other  markets.  Felix  Farley^s 
Journal  of  March  29th,  1800,  records  that  "  several  cargoes 
of  West  Indian  and  American  produce  have  been  recently 
imported  into  this  city  from  Liverpool.*' 

Previous  to  1796,  the  difficulty  of  adequately  lighting 
churches  and  chapels  with  candles  or  smoky  lamps  rendered 
evening  services  uncommon.  The  newly  invented  Argand 
burner,  however,  reached  England  about  this  time,  and 
worked  a  little  social  revolution,  brilliant  lighting  being 
thenceforth  only  a  question  of  expense.  An  evening  lecture- 
ship was  soon  after  established  at  St.  Werburgh's.  Evening 
services  were  nevertheless  rare  until  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later. 

The  threats  of  the  French  Directory  to  spread  republican 
principles  by  fire  and  sword,  and  to  crush  English  opposi- 
tion by  a  conquest  of  the  island,  were  continuous  through- 
out 1796.  An  army  was  drawn  up  on  the  coast  of  Normandy, 
where  extensive  preparations  were  made  for  the  menaced 
invasion.  The  English  Government  raised  an  additional 
militia  force  of  60,000  to  meet  this  peril,  but  the  successes 
of  the  French  in  Italy  inspired   apprehensions  as   to  the 


520  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1797. 

national  security,  and  a  feeling  gradually  arose  in  favour  of 
a  general  armament  of  the  country.  Felix  Farl€y\s  Journal 
of  February  18th,  1797,  stated  that  a  body  of  *'  provisional 
cavalry"  was  being  formed,  and  that  a  number  of  merchants 
and  tradesmen,  who  had  entered  into  an  association  with  a 
view  to  guarding  the  prisoners  of  war  at  Stapleton  in  case 
the  militia  should  be  called  away  for  active  service,  would 
hold  a  meeting  that  day  to  extend  the  movement.  A 
numerously  attended  gathering  consequently  took  place  in 
the  Guildhall,  Evan  Baillie,  Esq.,  in  the  chair,  when  it  was 
resolved  to  establish  a  "Military  Volunteer  Association.'' 
The  proposed  corps  was  to  be  of  infantry,  1,0(X)  strong,  and 
to  be  called  the  Bristol  Volunteers,  commanded  by  two 
lieutenant  colonels,  two  majors,  ten  captains,  ten  lieutenants, 
and  ten  ensigns,  the  whole  force  to  serve  without  pay.  (The 
lieutenants  were  afterwards  increased  to  twenty  -  two.) 
The  Government  were  expected  to  furnish  muskets,  field 
pieces,  ammunition,  and  drums ;  also  the  pay  of  an  adjutant, 
ten  sergeants,  and  ten  drummers  ;  and  it  was  stipulated 
that  in  no  exigency  should  the  corps  be  removed  above  one 
day's  march  from  Bristol.  The  mayor  for  the  time  being 
was  nominated  honorary  colonel;  Messrs.  Evan  Baillie  (Park 
Row)  and  William  Gore  (Brislington)  were  recommended  to 
the  Crown  as  suitable  lieutenant  colonels,  and  Thomas  King- 
ton (Rodney  Place)  and  Thomas  Haynes  (Castle  Green)  were 
designated  majors.  The  opening  of  a  subscription,  to  provide 
uniforms  for  the  less  wealthy  Volunteers,  closed  the  pro- 
ceedings. The  movement  received  a  powerful  stimulus  by 
the  landing  of  1,400  French  troops,  four  days  later,  in 
Pembrokeshire,  for  although  the  incapable  commander  sur- 
rendered in  a  few  hours,  the  incident  showed  that  the  navy 
was  an  uncertain  security  against  invasion.  On  the  2nd 
March,  when  the  Volunteers  were  still  without  arms,  a  lively 
sensation  was  caused  by  a  report  that  another  French  force 
had  landed  in  South  Wales,  and  was  advancing  on  Bristol. 
The  Bucks  Militia  and  a  few  regular  troops,  quartered  in 
the  city,  received  immediate  orders  to  march  to  Pill,  where 
they  embarked  in  pilot  skiffs  for  Tenby.  Many  citizens 
volunteered  wagons  and  horses  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
baggage,  others  liberally  regaled  the  soldiers,  and  to  pro- 
vide them  with  comforts  during  the  voyage  nearly  £100 
were  collected  from  the  crowd  assembled  in  College  Green 
to  witness  their  departure.  A  few  militiamen  had  been 
reserved  to  guard  the  2,000  French  prisoners  at  Stapleton, 
but  the  Volunteers  prevailed  upon   Lord  Buckingham   to 


1797.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  521 

despatch  those  men  also,  undertaking  to  perform  the 
necessary  duty.  (When  the  alarm  was  at  its  height,  it  was 
proposed  that  the  prisoners  should  be  lowered  into  the 
Kingswood  collieries  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  and  Lord 
Middleton,  and  this  would  probably  have  been  done  if  the 
city  had  been  seriously  menaced.)  In  the  evening,  however, 
the  reported  invasion  proved  a  hoax,  and  the  troops  returned 
to  their  quarters.  The  Government,  through  the  Duke  of 
Portland,  eulogised  the  patriotic  zeal  of  the  citizens,  and  the 
ranks  of  the  Volunteers  rapidly  increased.  Mr.  Evan  Baillie 
was  afterwards  gazetted  as  acting  colonel,  when  Capt. 
Thomas  Tyndall  was  promoted  to  the  vacant  lieutenant 
colonelcy.  As  the  list  of  officers  published  in  a  local  history 
is  exceedingly  incorrect,  it  may  be  as  well  to  give  the  names 
of  the  gentlemen  originally  nominated  by  the  corps  and 
appointed  by  the  Crown  as  captains  and  lieutenants : — No.  1 
Company ;  Ralph  Montague  (Montague  Street)  and  Azariah 
Pinney  (Great  George  Street).  No.  2  Comp. ;  Robert  Claxton 
(Park  Street)  and  Ralph  Montague,  jun.  (Park  Street).  No. 
3  Comp. ;  John  Lambert  (Clifton)  and  Henry  King  (St. 
Augustine's  Back).  No.  4  Comp. ;  John  Span  (Clifton)  and 
J.  S.  Riddle  (Portland  Square).  No.  6  Comp.  ;  Gabriel 
Goldney  (Clifton)  and  Thomas  Corser  (RedcliiF  Street).  No. 
6  Comp. ;  Charles  Payne  (Queen's  Parade)  and  Thomas  Hill 
(Orchard  Street).  No.  7  Comp. ;  Joseph  Bisset  (Clifton)  and 
George  Gibbs  (Park  Street).  No.  8  Comp. ;  Robert  Bush 
(College  Green)  and  H.  Tobin  (Berkeley  Square).  No.  9 
Comp.  ;  Thomas  Tyndall  (Berkeley  Square)  and  John  Gor- 
don (Cleeve  Hill).  No.  10  Comp. ;  Philip  John  Miles 
(Clifton)  and  John  Foy  Edgar  (Park  Row).  Mr.  Stephen 
Cave  (Brunswick  Square)  was  quartermaster.  Mr.  W.  B. 
Elwyu  (Berkeley  Square)  was  captain  of  a  cavalry  corps, 
called  the  Bristol  Light  Horse  Volunteers,  subsequently 
formed  into  two  troops  under  Richard  Pearsall  and  Levi 
Ames,  John  Vaughan  and  John  Wedgwood  being  lieu- 
tenants. Both  corps  were  presented  with  colours  by  the 
ladies  of  Bristol,  and  at  their  first  review  on  Durdham 
Down  the  steadiness  of  the  citizen  soldiers  won  general 
applause.  The  corps  at  one  time  numbered  nearly  1,600 
effectives,  exclusive  of  a  Clifton  corps  of  132  and  aWestbury 
corps  of  136  men.  The  dress  of  the  Volunteers  has  been 
preserved  to  posterity  by  two  life-size  marble  figures  sculp- 
tured upon  the  monument  in  the  Cathedral  to  the  memory 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Gore.  Many  influential  citizens 
served   in  the  ranks,   and  somewhat  fabulous  statements 


522  THE    ANNALS    OF   BRISTOL  [1797. 

have  been  made  as  to  the   personal  wealth  represented  by 
some  of  the  companies. 

Southey  states  in  his  Common  Place  Book  that  during 
the  alarm  of  invasion  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seyer,  the  Bristol 
historian,  furnished  the  boys  in  his  boarding  school  with 
arms,  and  that  the  lads  seriously  thought  of  shooting  their 
master,  whose  fondness  for  excessive  punishments  was 
abnormal  even  in  those  days.  Their  design  was,  however, 
discovered,  and  the  affair  was  hushed  up. 

The  French  landing  in  Wales,  in  spite  of  its  ludicrous 
failure,  caused  a  financial  convulsion  throughout  the  country. 
The  hoarding  of  gold  had  become  prevalent  in  the  later 
months  of  1796,  in  consequence  of  the  invasion  alarms,  and 
when  news  arrived  of  an  actual  descent,  a  rush  was  made 
on  the  banks  for  repayment  of  their  notes.  On  Saturday, 
the  25th  February,  the  bullion  in  the  Bank  of  England  was 
reduced  to  £1,272,000,  with  every  prospect  of  being  ex- 
hausted on  the  following  Monday.  The  Privy  Council, 
however,  met  on  Sunday,  and  ordered  the  Bank  to  suspend 
cash  payments.  As  the  step  was  calculated  to  increase  the 
panic  and  augment  the  demands  on  private  bankers,  a 
meeting,  hurriedly  convened  by  the  mayor  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  G-overnment,  was  held  at  the  Mansion  House,  Bristol, 
on  Monday  morning,  when  about  seventy  leading  citizens 
(including  many  bankers)  passed  a  resolution  earnestly 
recommending  the  citizens  to  receive  local  bank  notes  in 
lieu  of  cash,  and  advising  the  banks  to  make  no  payments 
in  specie,  and  to  demand  none  in  discharge  of  bills.  The 
excitement  afterwards  gradually  died  away. 

The  Common  Council,  in  March,  1797,  presented  the  free- 
dom of  the  city  to  Sir  John  Jervis,  afterwards  Earl  St. 
Vincent,  in  honour  of  his  brilliant  victory  over  the  French 
and  Spanish  fleets.  In  September  a  similar  compliment 
was  paid  to  Admiral  Nelson,  and  in  the  folio wang  month  to 
Lord  Duncan  for  his  triumph  at  Camperdown. 

General  Kosciusko,  the  celebrated  Polish  patriot,  arrived 
in  Bristol  on  the  13th  June  on  his  way  to  the  United  States, 
and  was  received  with  enthusiastic  tokens  of  sympathy. 
The  sheriffs  tendered  the  congratulations  of  the  civic  body, 
but  he  became  the  guest  of  the  American  Consul  until  his 
embarkation.  On  the  17th,  the  general  was  presented  by  a 
deputation  of  citizens  with  an  address  eulogising  his  charac- 
ter and  heroism,  accompanied  by  a  piece  of  plate,  value  100 
guineas.  The  exile  sailed  on  the  19th  amidst  renewed 
demonstrations  of  respect. 


1797.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  523 

The  newspapers  of  the  24th  June  announced  that  Edward 
Bird,  portrait,  historical  and  landscape  painter,  had  opened 
an  evening  drawing-school  for  young  gentlemen — the  first, 
so  far  as  is  known,  attempted  in  the  city.  The  academy 
was  situated  in  what  would  now  be  deemed  a  strange 
locality,  "  Temple  Back,  near  the  Passing  Slip  "  (a  much 
frequented  ferry).  Mr.  Bird's  terms  were  as  humble  as  was 
his  residence.  His  fee  for  each  pupil  was  one  guinea  a  quarter 
for  three  lessons  a  week  *'from  B  to  7  o'clock."  The  talented 
artist  attained  the  rank  of  Royal  Academician,  but  his  merits 
were  ignored  by  the  city  of  his  adoption,  and  he  died,  as  he 
had  lived,  in  poverty. 

The  ordnance  officers  charged  with  the  first  trigonometri- 
cal survey  of  the  kingdom  (commenced  in  1784)  pitched 
their  tents  on  Dundry  hill  about  the  end  of  July,  and  com- 
menced their  work  in  this  district.  Three  weeks  later  the 
camp — which  caused  great  disquietude  in  the  agricultural 
community,  to  whom  the  supposed  magical  powers  of  the 
surveying  instruments  suggested  alarming  intentions  on  the 
part  of  the  Government — was  removed  to  Lansdown.  The 
local  maps  formed  upon  this  survey  were  not  published  until 
twenty  years  afterwards. 

The  Common  Council,  in  October,  granted  permission  to 
the  Rev.  T.  Broughton,  rector  of  St.  Peter's,  to  hold  with 
that  living  the  incumbency  of  Westbury,  the  chapelry  of 
Redland  and  the  chapelry  of  Shirehampton. 

The  defenceless  state  of  the  Bristol  Channel  naturally 
created  much  uneasiness  at  a  time  when  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  constantly  threatening  invasion.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  aldermanic  body,  in  October,  it  was  resolved  to 
address  the  Admiralty,  drawing  attention  to  the  fact  that 
between  Lundy  Island  and  Kingroad  there  was  not  a  single 
fortified  point  of  land,  and  praying  that  a  gunboat  be 
stationed  off  Portishead  and  another  in  the  Bristol  Channel. 
It  was  also  resolved  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  Duke  of  York 
for  the  erection  of  signal  posts  to  guard  against  a  surprise, 
and  for  the  fortifying  of  certain  points  for  the  security  of 
the  harbour.  The  authorities  held  a  deaf  ear  to  these  appli- 
cations, apparently  in  the  hope  that  the  citizens  would 
protect  themselves.  In  April,  1798,  the  Admiralty  recom- 
mended that  all  the  serviceable  long-boats  in  the  port  should 
be  armed  with  cannon  for  the  purpose  of  being  used  as  gun- 
boats at  Kingroad,  but  neither  men,  arms  nor  ammunition 
were  offered  by  the  Government.  A  Pill  row-boat  and  a 
ship's  long-boat  were  shortly  afterwards  armed  by  a  local 


524  THE    ANNALS    OP   BRISTOL  [1797. 

committee.  A  battery  at  the  mouth  of  the  Avon  appears  to 
have  been  constructed  about  the  same  time,  and  the  old 
works  at  Portishead  were  repaired  and  garrisoned. 

The  local  newspapers  of  the  18th  November  announced 
that  two  well-known  surgeons,  Mr.  Francis  C.  Bowles  and 
Mr.  Richard  Smith,  were  about  to  deliver  a  course  of  anato- 
mical  lectures  at  the  Red   Lodge.      The  movement  was 
initiated    by   Dr.    Beddoes,   who    induced  the   Marquis   of 
Lansdowne,  Earl  Stanhope,  and  other  friends  then  sojourn- 
ing at  Clifton  to  guarantee  the  lecturers  from  loss.      The 
course,    however,  was  so  popular  that,  including  £60  pre- 
sented by  the  guarantors,  a  profit  was  made  of  about  £140. 
The    two    surgeons   subsequently   determined   to   found    a 
permanent  School  of   Anatomy,  and,  having  purchased  a 
house  in  Trinity  Street,  they  built  a  theatre  on  the  stables 
behind  it.    But  Mr.  Bowles  having  died  soon  afterwards,  the 
premises  were  transferred  to  a  Philosophical  Society ;  on  the 
breaking  up  of  which  they  were  purchased  by  Dr.  Kentish, 
who  fitted  them  up  for  hot  baths — the  first,  apparently,  in 
the  city.     In  1806  Mr.  Thomas  Shute  built  an  anatomical 
theatre  at  the  end  of  College  Street,  where  he  lectured  for 
nine  years,  thus  practically  founding  the  Bristol  Medical 
School.     In  1813,  Mr.  Frank  Gold  opened  a  rival  establish- 
ment over  part  of  the  cloisters  of  the  Cathedral.     (The  site 
is    identified  in  CNeiPs  view  of  the  cloisters,  a  skeleton 
being  depicted  as  looking  out  of  the  window  of  Gold's  room.) 
After  Mr.  Shute's  death,  in  1816,  Dr.  Wallis  occupied  his 
theatre   until    1822,  when  new  rooms  were   built  in   the 
Bishop's  Park,   behind  College  Street.      In  the  meaatime 
Mr.  Goodeve  began  lecturing  over  the  cloisters  in  1819,  and 
continued  to  do   so  until  about  1827.     The  extraordinary 
attachment   of  the  professors  for  the  Cathedral  precincts 
will  he  remarked  throughout  these  changes.     In  1826  Mr. 
Clarke  began  to  lecture  in  King  Square.     About  1830,  a 
new   school   was  erected  in  Park  Square,  behind    College 
Street.     Finally  the  long  continued  rivalry  gave  place  to 
co-operation,  and  the  Bristol  Medical  School  was  opened  in 
Old    Park  on  the  14th  October,  1834,   when  Mr.  Richard 
Smith  delivered  an  opening  address,  from  which  the  above 
facts  have  been  derived. 

On  the  17th  November,  1797,  an  obstinately  fought  duel 
took  place  near  Durdham  Down  between  Lieut. -Colonel 
Sykes,  of  the  Berkshire  Militia,  and  Mr.  Charles  F.  Williams, 
a  barrister,  and  one  of  the  Bristol  Volunteers.  Four  shots 
were  exchanged  on  each  side  at  ten  paces  distance,  and  on 


1797-98.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  525 

each  occasion  one  or  other  of  the  combatants  had  his  clothes 
pierced  by  a  ball.  Eventually  both  were  wounded,  though 
not  seriously,  and  the  affair  terminated  with  mutual  apolo- 
gies. The  encounter  arose  out  of  some  remarks  made  by 
Williams  in  a  newspaper  on  the  rude  conduct  of  a  militia 
officer  at  a  concert. 

On  the  23rd  February,  1798,  at  a  time  when  Consols  had 
fallen  to  48,  and  the  Government  were  extremely  embar- 
rassed to  find  means  for  maintaining  the  war,  a  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Guildhall  to  consider  the  best  means  of  support- 
ing the  Ministry.  To  stimulate  the  enthusiasm  of  the  citi- 
zens, Fel'm  Farley^ 8  Journal  of  the  17th  published  the  orders 
alleged  to  have  been  issued  by  General  Hoche,  the  com- 
mander of  the  French  troops  that  landed  in  Wales,  to 
Colonel  Tate,  one  of  his  subordinates.  "  The  destruction  of 
Bristol,"  said  this  document,  **  is  of  the  very  last  importance, 
and  every  possible  eflfort  should  be  made  to  accomplish  it." 
Tate  was  directed  to  sail  up  the  Avon  at  night,  land  about 
five  miles  from  the  mouth  on  the  right  bank,  and  set  fire  to 
the  quarter  lying  to  windward,  which  would  produce  the 
total  ruin  of  the  town,  the  port,  the  docks  and  the  vessels. 
The  mayor,  who  presided  at  the  meeting,  reminded  his 
hearers  of  the  patriotic  exertions  of  the  citizens  in  1745, 
when  they  raised  such  a  sum  for  the  defence  of  the  country 
as  excited  the  surprise  of  the  whole  kingdom.  It  was  re- 
solved to  open  a  voluntary  subscription.  The  list  was 
headed  by  the  Corporation,  which  voted  £1,000,  **  after  taking 
into  consideration  the  low  state  of  its  finances."  The  mayor 
gave  £600,  the  Society  of  Merchants  £600,  Messrs.  J.  Hill 
and  Sons  £600,  Mr.  J.  Powell,  Messrs.  A.  Drummond  and 
Son.  Mr.  T.  Tyndall,  Mr.  L.  Ames,  Mr.  Jos.  Harford,  and 
Messrs.  W.  Miles  and  Son  £500  each,  the  Dean  and  Chapter, 
Mr.  Evan  Baillie,  Mr.  J.  Ireland,  and  Mr.  S.  Worrall,  £400 
each,  and  Messrs.  J.  Cave  and  Co.  promised  £300  annually 
during  the  war.  The  vestry  of  St.  Stephen's,  partaking  in 
the  enthusiasm,  deprived  itself  of  the  Easter  feast  usually 
given  by  one  of  the  churchwardens,  and  the  official  in  ques- 
tion sulDScribed  20  guineas  to  the  fund  "  in  lieu  of  the 
dinner."  Another  item  in  the  subscription  list  was: — 
**  Nancy  Bendall,  out  of  her  parish  pay,  2rf."  The  news- 
papers of  April  7th  stated  that  the  fund  then  amounted  to 
£31,3<X).  At  the  same  date  the  LiveriX)ol  subscription  stood 
at  £17,000,  that  at  Manchester  £20,000,  and  that  at  Birming- 
ham £10,(300.  The  local  fund  ultimately  reached  £33,2^), 
but  £4,070  of  that  sum  were  offered  "in  lieu  of  assessed  taxes.'' 


52(5  THE   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1798. 

Sir  William  Sydney  Smith,  who  had  been  captured  by 
the  French  during  the  siege  of  Toulon,  but  had  escaped  from 
prison  after  two  years'  ill-treatment,  arrived  in  Bristol  on  the 
26th  May,  1798,  and  took  up  his  quarters  at  the  White  Hart 
hotel.  Broad  Street,  which  was  surrounded  by  thousands  of 
citizens.  **  It  is  impossible,'*  says  a  local  journalist,  "  to 
describe  the  ecstacy  of  the  populace  for  many  hours."  Sir 
Sydney  posted  himself  at  a  window,  where  he  proposed  and 
drank  numberless  patriotic  toasts  amidst  the  acclamations 
of  the  crowd.  Before  his  departure,  three  days  later,  the 
future  "  hero  of  Acre  "  was  magnificently  entertained  at  the 
Mansion  House. 

Felix  Farley^s  Journal  announced  in  June,  1798,  that 
Traitor's  Bridge,  Wade  Street,  had  been  rebuilt,  and  was  to 
be  thenceforth  called  Froom  Bridge.  Popular  appellations 
are  rarely  altered  by  authority,  but  the  above  order  was  not 
without  some  eflfect.  Half  a  century  later,  although  the  term 
Traitor's  Bridge  was  still  remembered,  many  residents  in  the 
locality  applied  the  name  to  another  bridge,  originally 
known  as  Quakers'  Bridge  from  its  propinquity  to  the 
Quakers'  Almshouse. 

Peculiar  ideas  as  to  recruiting  the  army  and  navy  still 
lingered  in  magisterial  minds.  At  the  gaol  delivery  in  1798 
a  man  named  Thomas  Brown  was  sentenced  to  death  for 
forger}' ;  but  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  deeming  it  absurd 
to  deprive  the  country  of  an  able-bodied  man  when  such 
men  were  hard  to  catch  for  the  forces,  besought  the  Duke 
of  Portland  to  pardon  the  felon  on  condition  of  his  entering 
the  dLTvay.  The  Grovernment  manifested  unusual  squeamish- 
ness  in  responding  to  this  application.  As  already  stated,  con- 
victs under  sentence  of  transportation  had  been  permitted  to 
enter  the  army  in  179B.  The  Duke,  however,  now  replied 
that  the  War  Office  objected  to  enroll  convicts ;  but  if  the 
magistrates  approved  he  would  direct  Brown  to  be  pardoned. 
The  mayor  and  aldermen  declined  to  ask  for  the  criminal's 
discharge,  and  he  was  probably  transported.  As  three  men 
were  hanged  in  the  city  for  forgery  only  six  months  later, 
without  the  justices  stirring  a  finger  to  save  their  lives,  it  is 
clear  that  their  action  in  Brown's  case  was  not  inspired  by 
any  antipathy  to  the  sanguinary  punishments  of  the  age. 

The  dirty  and  ill-regulated  condition  of  even  the  most 
frequented  streets  of  the  city  was  noticed  in  the  records  of 
the  earliest  years  of  the  century,  and  continued  wath  little 
improvement  until  its  close.  Frequent  complaints  were 
raised  in   the    newspapers   of    this   period   respecting   the 


1798.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  527 

heaps  of  mud  permitted  to  encumber  the  thoroughfares, 
the  absence  of  foot  pavements  in  many  streets,  and  the 
pitiful  lighting  arrangements  through  which  the  lamps 
often  became  extinguished  before  8  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
A  local  journal  of  October  27th,  1798,  stated  that  a  man  had 
just  been  convicted  for  suflFering  seven  pigs  to  wander  in 
the  streets.  In  the  following  week  three  men  were  fined 
for  a  similar  offence,  and  three  more  cases  occurred  a  week 
later.  On  the  last  occasion  Felix  Farley^s  Journal^  which 
had  previously  complained  of  the  filth iness  of  the  thorough- 
fares, added  : — "  The  city  and  its  environs  are  much  infested 
by  such  irregularities.  Pigs,  goats,  and  other  animals  are 
suffered  to  wander  about  the  streets  with  impunity.''  A 
writer  in  the  Monthly  Magazine  (May,  1799)  condemns 
another  local  nuisance,  "  the  barbarous  custom  of  using 
sledges  in  the  public  streets  for  the  carriage  of  goods,  which 
are  continually  endangering  the  limbs  both  of  men  and 
cattle."  The  inefiiciency  of  the  lighting  arrangements, 
producing  only  **  a  visible  obscurity,"  was  repeatedly  urged 
on  the  authorities  by  the  newspapers.  Reforms  were 
constantly  postponed,  however,  owing  to  the  distrust  in 
which  the  Corporation  was  held  by  the  citizens,  and  to  the 
arrogance  of  the  former  in  maintaining  its  ancient  rights. 
The  inhabitants  were  willing  to  be  taxed  for  carrying 
out  an  efficient  system  of  police,  but  they  required  the 
money  to  be  administered  by  elected  commissioners.  The 
civic  body  demanded  that  the  control  of  the  arrangements 
should  remain,  as  before,  in  itself.  The  dispute,  which 
excited  much  bitterness  of  feeling,  continued  for  many 
years. 

It  may  possibly  have  been  to  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
of  the  streets  that  another  social  shortcoming  was  attribut- 
able. Felix  Farley^s  Journal  of  December  16th,  1798, 
observes  : — "  The  deficiency  of  public  amusements  in  this 
populous  and  opulent  city  is  not  only  a  constant  source  of 
complaint  to  persons  visiting  it,  but  is  also  the  subject  of 
frequent  regret  to  a  great  number  of  the  respectable  inhabi- 
tants." The  writer  in  the  Monthly  Magazine  referred  to  in 
the  last  paragraph  uttered  a  similar  reproach  : — "  Perhaps 
there  is  no  place  in  England  where  public  and  social  amuse- 
ments are  so  little  attended  to  as  here."  He  added  that  the 
inhabitants  had  been  in  consequence  stigmatised  for  their 
want  of  taste,  and  described  as  sordid  devotees  of  Plutus, 
but  that  a  more  plausible  reason  for  the  monotonous  dulness 
was   to  be   found  in  the   number  of  dissenters  in   Bristol. 


528  THE    ANNALS   OP   BRISTOL  [1798. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  singularity,  so 
strikingly  in  contrast  with  contemporary  descriptions  of 
life  in  Norwich,  York,  Newcastle,  and  other  towns,  its  exis- 
tence is  beyond  question.  Nevertheless,  in  Mr.  Seyer's 
MSS.  is  a  paper  in  the  historian's  handwriting,  penned 
about  the  end  of  the  century,  which  shows  that  a  fashion- 
able gathering  known  as  a  "  rout,"  invented  in  London,  had 
its  local  devotees.  With  a  commendable  regard  for  readers 
of  the  present  day,  Mr.  Seyer  wrote  : — *^  It  is  possible  that  a 
hundred  years  hence  an  account  of  that  species  of  enter- 
tainment called  a  Rout  may  be  curious  to  those  who  take  a 
pleasure  in  watching  the  passing  manners  of  a  nation.  A 
Rout  is  a  large  assembly  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  meeting 
by  invitation  at  the  house  of  some  friend,  so  that  Assembly 
Rooms  are  ruined.  The  tickets  of  invitation  are  usually 
sent  out  near  a  month  before  the  time  appointed,  in  which 
tickets  the  expression  is  Vto  tea  and  cards,'  or  *  for  the 
evening,'  or  the  like,  the  word  Rout  being  a  word  of 
Undress,  and  never  used  formally  though  in  every  one's 
mouth.  A  company  of  less  than  forty  would  scarcely  be 
called  a  rout,  and  there  have  been  some  here  at  which  200 
persons  have  assembled ;  and  as  not  many  houses  can 
furnish  accommodations  for  such  a  party,  some  ladies  have 
removed  partitions  and  taken  down  beds  in  order  to  gain  a 
room  or  two,  for  the  greater  the  crowd  the  more  honoured 
the  entertainment :  and  sometimes  you  can  scarce  stir,  and 
find  no  place  to  sit  in  but  a  staircase.  Theu  carriages  begin 
to  drive  up  to  the  door  about  8  o'clock ;  a  servant  at  the 
door  of  the  first  apartment  announces  the  name  of  each 
visitor  as  they  enter ;  and  the  mistress  of  the  house  (and 
perhaps  the  master  too)  is  at  hand  to  receive  them.  Every 
room  is  spendidly  lighted  with  wax  and  coloured  lamps. 
The  visitors  sit  down  to  cards,  usually  at  whist,  but  many 
of  the  younger  people  crowd  to  a  large  table,  and  play  a 
round  game.  .  .  Presently  the  servants  on  silver  salvers 
carry  round  biscuits,  sweet  cakes,  &c.,  with  glasses  of  wine, 
lemonade,  ices,  and  the  like,  and  this  is  repeated  every  half 
hour  or  thereabouts  during  the  evening.  .  .  Some  stay 
only  a  few  minutes,  and  depart,  perhaps,  to  another  rout  in 
some  other  part  of  the  town.  In  general  the  company 
gradually  separates  without  supper  before  11  o'clock,  unless 
the  invitations  were  for  supper  also,  which  is  not  the  usual 
practice.  Of  this  kind  of  assembly  there^  have  been  in 
Bristol  for  several  years  past  about  a  dozen  every  winter, 
besides  one  or  two  at  the  Mansion  House." 


1798-99.]        IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  529 

In  view  of  the  dearth  of  public  amusements,  it  is  sur- 
prising to  learn  that  the  magisterial  hatred  of  billiard  play- 
ing  revived  at  this  date.  In  the  MS.  diary  of  a  citizen,  in 
the  Jefferies  Collection,  is  the  following  entry  dated  Novem- 
ber 13th,  1798: — "Mr.  Claxton,  mayor,  caused  two  billiard 
tables  to  be  destroyed  in  the  Exchange  ;  a  measure  which 
he  intended  to  take  with  all,  but  did  not  pursue  his  pur- 
pose.'' Th^  destructive  intentions  of  the  magistracy  were 
warmly  approved  in  Bonner^ s  JournaL 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  on  the  12th 
January,  1799,  it  was  announced  that  Alderman  John 
Merlott,  who  had  died  shortly  before,  had  bequeathed 
£3,000  to  the  Corporation,  in  trust,  and  that  the  money  had 
been  invested  in  Consols.  (Owing  to  the  low  price  of 
securities  at  that  time,  the  amount  of  stock  secured  was 
£6,114.)  The  Chamber  undertook  the  administration  of  the 
income,  which  Alderman  Merlott  directed  should  be  paid,  in 
sums  of  £10  each  yearly,  to  blind  persons  of  50  years  or 
upwards.  Subsequently  Miss  Elizabeth  Merlott  contributed 
£4,000  and  the  philanthropic  Richard  Reynolds  nearly  £2,460 
to  the  charity,  the  income  eventually  sufficing  to  provide 
annuities  for  about  45  afflicted  persons. 

The  hea\y  tax  on  salt  imposed  about  this  time  was  met 
by  the  manufacturers  by  so  enormous  an  increase  in  its 
price  as  to  cause  suffering  amongst  the  poor.  The  remedy 
devised  by  the  Government  was  to  pass  an  Act  authorising 
the  magistrates  to  fix  the  price  of  salt,  and  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  of  Bristol,  in  February,  1799,  accordingly  published 
a  scale  of  prices  at  which  dealers  were  compelled  to  supply 
the  public.  The  bushel  of  661b.  of  rock  or  Bristol  salt  was 
to  be  sold  at  13^.  6d.  (the  cost  price  of  that  quantity  was 
then  about  a  shilling).  For  a  single  pound  the  charge  was 
not  to  exceed  3Jd.  Any  person  demanding  higher  prices, 
or  refusinjg  to  sell  at  the  fixed  rates,  was  liable  to  a  penalty 
of  £20.  The  tariff  was  raised  a  few  years  later,  when  the 
tax  was  increased  to  16^.  per  bushel,  or  about  3Jd.  per  lb. 

The  Government  made  a  tempting  proposal  in  the  spring 
of  1799  to  the  owners  of  landed  property  for  the  redemption 
of  the  land  tax  by  the  contribution  of  a  lump  sum,  liquidated 
by  instalments.  The  Corporation  resolved  on  availing  itself 
of  this  offer  in  order  to  relieve  the  whole  of  the  civic  estates, 
and  the  first  payment  was  made  in  July.  The  amount  it 
expended  in  this  way  was  nearly  £14,800. 

Readers  of  the  present  day  are  unable  to  realise  the  de- 
vastation committed  a  century  ago  by  the  smallpox.      In 

M    M 


630  THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL  [1799. 

spite  of  attempts  to  check  the  malady  by  inoculation,  every 
town  in  the  kingdom  was  repeatedly  swept  by  outbreaks  of 
the  scourge  during  the  reigns  of  the  first  three  Georges.    At 
such  seasons  the  last  sound  heard  at  night  was  a  tiinereal 
knell,  and  the  first  tidings  of  each  morning  was  the  death 
of  a  neighbour  or  a  friend.     A  man  could  hardly  walk  the 
streets  without  being  a  terror  to  those  he  encountered.     On 
some  occasions  the  rural  population  would  neither  send  in 
supplies   of  food   to   towns,  nor  enter  to  make   purchases. 
During  an  especial  deadly  visitation  at  Cirencester,  in  1758, 
farmers  and  dealers  held  markets  outside  the  town,  business 
in  the  borough  being  practically  suspended  for  three  months. 
The  local  authorities  finally  announced  in  the  newspapers 
that  the  sickness  was  greatly  on  the  decline,  adding  the 
remarkable  assurance  that  it  must  soon  cease,  "  there  being 
but  few  people  remaining  to  have  it."     The  mortality  in 
Bristol  in  that  and  other  years  is  known  to  have  been  great, 
but  the  newspapers,  in  the  interests  of  trade,  suppressed 
disquieting  details,  and  the  statistics  have  perished.     The 
disease  was  never  so  rife  or  so  destructive  as  during  the  last 
ten  years  of  the  century,  when  92  per  1,000  of  the  popula- 
tion— nearly   one-tenth — are   recorded   to   have   died    from 
smallpox    alone,    whilst    at    least    twice    that    proportion 
narrowly  escaped   from   the   scourge,  and   were   disfigured 
for  life.     A  discovery  which  vastly  diminished  the  amount 
of  domestic  sorrow  and  extended  the  average  term  of  human 
life  was  at  length  made  by  Edward  Jenner,  bom  in  1749  at 
Berkeley.     After  a  prolonged  study  of  a  disease  called  cow- 
pox,  found   by  experience  to  protect   dairy  servants   from 
smallpox,  Jenner  published  in  1798  the  result  of   his   re- 
searches, which,  in  spite  of  the  derision  of  many  medical 
practitioners,  soon  produced  a  sensation  throughout  Europe. 
In  May,  1799,  the  Bristol  journals  announced  that  Mr.  Henry 
Jenner,  surgeon,  Berkeley,  would  visit  the  city  once  a  week 
"  for  the  purpose  of  inoculating  for  the  vaccine  disease." 
Ignorance  and  prejudice  impeded  the  diffusion  of  the  dis- 
covery, but  the  prodigious  diminution  of  mortality  in  some 
continental  States,  where  vaccination  was  made  compulsory, 
at  length  silenced  hostile  critics.     In   1802,  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  it  was  stated  that  Jenner, 
whose  experiments  had  suspended  the  profitable  exercise  of 
his  profession,  might  easily  have  earned  from  £10,000  to 
£20,0tK)  a  year  had  he  kept  his  discoveiy  a  secret.     A  vote 
to  him  of  £20,000  was  proposed,  but  through  the  influence 
of  the  then  Premier  (Addington)  it  was  reduced  to  £10,000. 


1800.]  IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  531 

* 

Another  bad  harvest  occurred  in  1799,  and  the  distress 
amongst  the  poor  in  that  and  the  following  year  exceeded 
even  the  miseries  experienced  in  1796  and  1796.  For  a 
considerable  time  the  price  of  coarse  household  bread  was 
fixed  by  the  magistrates  at  fourpence  per  pound,  a  rate  im- 
plying semi-starvation  amongst  thousands  of  families.  At 
the  close  of  February,  1800,  a  subscription  was  opened  for 
the  purchase  of  food,  to  be  distributed  under  cost  price  to 
the  poor,  and  a  fund  amounting  to  £16,600,  of  which  £2,000 
were  contributed  by  the  Corporation,  was  raised  in  a  few 
days.  The  Court  of  Aldermen,  in  May,  offered  bounties  to 
encourage  the  importation  of  fish,  the  effect  of  the  step 
being  to  largely  increase  the  supply.  Public  and  private 
benevolence,  however,  could  make  little  ippreciable  im- 
pression on  the  vast  mass  of  suffering,  and  in  autumn, 
when  the  crops  again  failed,  and  prices  rose  higher  than 
ever,  there  were  alarming  symptoms  of  popular  discontent. 
A  serious  riot  occurred  on  the  18th  September.  A  baker 
near  the  Stone  Bridge  had  promised  to  sell  some  damaged 
flour  to  the  poor  at  2^.  6d.  per  peck,  but  on  receiving  a 
higher  offer  privately  he  rejected  the  money  of  a  crowd  of 
applicants.  A  mob  thereupon  broke  into  his  house,  seized 
tne  flour,  and  threw  a  quantity  of  it  into  the  Froom.  The 
rioters,  charged  by  the  military,  were  with  difficulty  dis- 
persed. The  affair  was  wholly  unreported  in  Felix  Farley'H 
Journal^  the  editor  avowing  that  he  invariably  suppressed 
such  intelligence,  but  the  civic  minute  book  shows  that  the 
justices  sat  in  permanence  for  three  days  through  fear  of 
fuiiiher  disturbances.  Wheat  continued  to  rise,  and  in 
December,  though  an  unprecedented  importation  of  foreign 
grain  had  taken  place,  and  though  the  ordinary  consumption 
of  bread  was  said  to  have  diminished  by  one  fourth,  the 
average  price  of  wheat  in  the  markets  of  Bristol  and  Glouces- 
tershire reached  the  appalling  sum  of  169^.  lOd.  per  quarter, 
and  the  civic  authorities  fixed  the  minimum  weight  of  the 
shilling  loaf  of  standard  wheat  bread  at  21b.  lOioz. !  After 
a  vote  of  £50,000  by  the  House  of  Commons  for  relieving 
the  famishing  poor,  the  Government  purchased  a  number 
of  cargoes  of  herrings  in  Scotland,  one  of  which,  consigned 
to  Bristol,  arrived  alx)ut  the  close  of  the  year.  It  w^as  so 
gratefully  received  that  another  shipload  was  ordered  by 
the  mayor  and  other  gentlemen.     The  dearth  was  accom- 

f)anied  by  a  terrible  outbreak  of  fever  amongst  the  underfed 
abouring  classes,  and  the  mortality  was  for  many  months 
enormous. 


532  THE   ANNALS    OF    BRISTOL  [1800. 

The  Corporation's  annual  gifts  of  wine  became  greatly 
more  expensive  towards  the  end  of  the  century,  though  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  the  liquor  had  improved  in  quality. 
In  1709  the  two  pipes  sent  to  the  members  for  the  city  cost 
£60  B^.  In  April,  1800,  Alderman  Noble,  for  a  similar  con- 
signment, to  which  was  added  a  butt  for  the  Lord  High 
Steward  and  a  hogshead  to  the  recorder,  received  £227  17^., 
besides  £25  2^.  6d.  additional  for  the  bottling  of  the  previous 
year's  presents,  for  which  he  had  received  £210.  The  yearly 
outlay  subsequently  rose  to  nearly  £300.  In  despite  of  the 
increased  prices  intemperance  was  never  more  fashionable. 
"  Heroic  drinking "  was  patronised  by  the  princes  of  the 
royal  family,  and  men  of  the  best  education  and  social 
position  drank  like  the  northern  barbarians  of  olden  times — 
the  "  three  bottle  man  "  being  an  object  of  admiration.  At 
the  Colston  banquets,  it  was  the  custom  to  drink  about 
thirty  toasts,  and  the  festivity  was  kept  up  by  determined 
topers  until  after  breakfast  on  the  following  morning. 

A  musical  festival  took  place  at  the  Assembly  Rooms  on 
the  31st  May,  when  Handel's  "  Messiah "  was  performed. 
Incledon,  the  greatest  singer  of  the  time,  was  engaged  for 
the  occasion.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  tenth  local 
performance  of  the  oratorio,  though  Mr.  Nicholls'  history 
infers  that  the  work  was  not  attempted  here  until  1803. 

The  Common  Council's  difficulty  in  finding  a  gentleman 
willing  to  accept  the  chief  magistracy  again  became  acute 
at  this  period.  Mr.  Philip  Protheroe  was  elected  on  the 
usual  day,  but  refused  the  honour.  Mr.  John  Gtordon  was 
next  chosen,  but  declined  the  office.  After  further  delay, 
Mr.  William  Gibbons  was  appointed.  It  may  be  suspected 
that  his  acceptance  was  not  unconditional,  for  the  allowance 
made  to  the  mayor  was  increased  by  the  Chamber  to  £1,600. 
This  profligate  expenditure  at  a  period  of  intense  distress 
provoked  severe  criticism  out  of  doors.  Perhaps  to  allay 
discontent,  the  new  mayor  announced  that  the  second 
course  of  the  Mansion  House  dinners  would  be  given  up, 
and  other  efforts  made  to  ensure  economy.  Thrift,  however, 
was  not  a  virtue  much  admired  in  civic  circles.  Soon  after- 
wards the  allowance  to  each  chief  magistrate  was  raised  to 
£2,000. 

In  spite  of  the  distress  caused  by  bad  harvests  and  the 
war,  the  theatre  continued  to  be  so  well  patronised  that  the 
manager  was  encouraged  to  increase  its  accommodation. 
The  old  gallery,  which  was  erected  over  the  dress  boxes, 
was  removed,  a  tier  of  upper  boxes  taking  its  place ;  and  a 


1800.]  IN   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  533 

new  gallery  was  constructed  over  the  "  undress  circle  '^  by 
raising  the  roof.  The  appearance  of  the  interior  was  said  to 
be  improved  by  the  alterations. 

A  great  flood  occurred  in  the  valley  of  the  Froom  on  the 
9th  November.  Part  of  Stapleton  Bridge  was  carried  away, 
and  along  the  whole  of  the  lower  course  of  the  river,  espe- 
cially in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Broad  Weir  and  Broad- 
mead,  there  was  a  serious  destruction  of  property. 

Lethargy  and  selfishness  marked  too  many  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries  during  the  eighteenth  century,  and,  so  far  as  the 
capitular  body  of  Bristol  was  concerned,  the  latest  minute 
of  its  proceedings  coming  under  review  betrays  even  greater 
demerit  than  the  earliest.  At  a  meeting  of  the  chapter  on 
the  1st  December,  1800,  it  was  resolved  to  empower  the 
dean  (Dr.  Layard)  "  to  see  what  he  thinks  wanting  in  the 
choir,  and  to  dispose  of  the  brass  Eagle  and  the  bell  towards 
the  expense  of  the  same."  The  prebendaries,  in  fact,  de- 
termined to  despoil  the  Cathedral  of  part  of  its  requisites 
rather  than  slightly  curtail  their  own  incomes  to  provide 
for  trivial  repairs.  The  lectern,  which  weighed  6cwt.  201b., 
was  actually  sold  as  old  metal  in  the  following  year,  realising 
about  £27.     The  fate  of  the  bell  is  not  recorded. 

A  brief  paragraph  in  the  Bristol  Gazette  afifords  a  glimpse 
of  the  state  of  the  prison  at  Fishponds,  occupied  by  French- 
men captured  during  the  war.  Upwards  of  3,000  soldiers 
and  sailors  were  immured  in  Decemoer.  They  were  said  to 
be  fairly  fed,  but  disease  was  rife  in  the  crowded  wards,  and 
78  men  died  during  the  last  six  weeks  of  the  year.  Gambling 
was  pursued  with  frenzied  eagerness,  and  to  pay  their  losses 
many  prisoners  sold  their  beds,  their  clothes,  and  even  their 
food  for  several  successive  days,  being  sometimes  found  abso- 
lutely naked  and  famishing. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  century  whose  annals  have  now 
been  traced  that  the  last  incident  to  be  recorded  was  a  prize 
fight.  On  the  23rd  December  a  battle  for  £100  was  fought 
on  Wimbledon  Common  between  "  the  noted  Jem  Belcher, 
of  Bristol "  (then  21  years  of  age,  and  of  remarkable  muscu- 
lar vigour),  and  an  Irishman  named  Gamble.  The  combat 
was  witnessed  by  several  noble  lords  and  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  upwards  of  £8,000  had  been  betted  upon  the  issue. 
Belcher  won  an  easy  victory,  and  was  for  some  years  one  of 
the  most  popular  of  pugilistic  heroes.  Two  other  Bristol 
men  famed  for  their  prowess  about  this  time  were  "Bill 
Warr ''  and  "  Bob  Watson.^' 


534 


TH£   ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL. 


CATHEDRAL  AND  CIVIC  DIGNITARIES. 

BISHOPS. 

lf>91  Joliii  Hall,  died  February  4,  1709. 

1710  John  Robinson,  translated  to  London,  1713 ;  died  1723. 
1714  George  Smalridge,  dit-d  September  27,  1719. 
1719  Hugh  Boulter,  translated  to  Armagh,  1723;  died  1742, 
1724  William  Bradshaw,  died  December  16,  1732. 
1732  Charles  Cecill,  translated  to  Bangor,  1734  ;  died  1737. 
1734  Thomas  Seeker,  translated  to  Oxfoi*d,  1737;  to  Canterbury,  1758; 
died  1768. 

1737  Thomas  Gooch,  translated  to  Norwich    1738;  to  Ely,  1748;  died 

1754. 

1738  Joseph  Butler,  translated  to  Durham,  1750 ;  died  1752. 
1750  John  Conybeare,  died  July  13, 1755. 

1756  John  Hume,  translated  to  Oxford,  1758;  to  Salisbury,  1766;  died 

1782. 
1758  Philip  Yonge,  translated  to  Norwich,  1761 ;  died  1783. 
1761  Thomas  Newton,  died  February  15^  1782. 

1782  Lewis  Bagot,  translated  to  Norwich,  1783;  to  St.  Asaph,  1790; 

died  1802. 

1783  Christopher  Wilson,  died  April  18,  1792. 

1792  Spencer  Madan,  translated  to  Peterborough,  1794 ;  died  1813. 
1794  Henry  Reginald  Courtenay,  translated  to  Exeter,  1797 ;  died  1803. 
1797  Foliot  H.  W.  Cornwall,  translated  to  Hereford,  1802;  to  Wor- 
cester, 1808;  died  183L 

DEANS. 

1693  George  Royse,  died  April,  1708. 

1708  Robert  Booth,  died  1730. 

1730  Samuel  Creswicke,  promoted  to  Wells,  1739. 

1739  Thomas  Chamberlayne,  died  September  15,  1757. 

1755  William  W^arburton,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  1759 ;  died  1779. 

17(>0  Samuel  Squire,  Bishop  of  St.  Davids,  1761. 

1761  Francis  Ayscough,  died  August  15, 1763. 

1763  Cutts  Barton,  died  December  10,  1780. 

1781  John  Hallam,  resigned  1800,  died  1811. 

1800  Charles  Peter  Layard,  died  May  11,  1803. 

MAYORS  AND  SHERIFFS. 

The  civic  year,  under  the  old  charters,  began  and  ended  on  the  29th 
September.  (The  occupations  of  the  mayors  have  been  obtained  from 
a  curious  Calendar  in  the  library  of  Mr.  Alderman  Fox.) 


Mayors. 

17(X)  Sir  William  Daines,  merchant 

1701  John  Hawkins,  brewer 

(knighted) 

1702  William  Lewis,  soapboiler 

(knighted) 

1703  Peter  Saunders,  merchant 

1704  Francis  Whitchurch,  grocer 

1705  Nathaniel  Day,  soapboiler 

1706  George  Stephens,  draper 

1707  William  Whitehead,  distiller 

1708  James  Hoi  ledge,  merchant 

1709  Robert  Bound,  shipwright 


Shkkiffs. 

Robert  Bound,  Isaac  Da  vies 
Samuel  Bayly,  Richard  Bayly 

Abraham  Elton,  Christopher  Shuter 

Thomas  Hort,  Henry  Whitehead 
Anthony  Swymmer,  Henry  Walter 
Morgan  Smith,  Nathaniel  Webb 
Abraham  Hooke,  Nicholas  Hicks 
Onesiphorus  Tyndall.  Thomas  Tyler 
Philip  Freke,  John  Day 
James  Hayues,  Thomas  Clement 


MAYORS   AND   SHKBIFFS. 


535 


1710 
1711 
1712 
1713 
1714 
1715 
1716 
1717 

1718 
1719 

172() 


Mayors. 
Abraham  Elton,  merchant 
Christopher  Shuter,  grocer 
Thomas  Hort,  merchant 
Anthony  Swymmer,  merchant 
Henry  Whitehead,  salt-maker 
Henry  Walter,  woollen  draper 
Nicholas  Hicks,  mercer 
John  Day,  merchant  (see  p.  121) 
Thomas  Clement,  shipwright 
Edmund  Mountjoy,  soap-maker 


Abraham  Elton,  jun.,  mer- 
chant 

Henry  Watts,  merchant  (see 
p.  128) 

Sir  Abraham  Elton,  Bart, 

1721  John  Becher,  merchant 

1722  Henry  Swymmer,  merchant 

1723  James  Donning,  merchant 

1724  Joseph  Jefferis,  merchant 

1725  Robert  Earle,  merchant 

1726  Peter  Day,  merchant 

1727  Henry  Nash,  distiller 

1728  John  Price,  merchant 
172^)  Samuel  Stokes,  soapboiler 

1730  Edward  Foy,  merchant 

1731  Arthur  Taylor,  distiller 

1732  John  King,  merchant 

1733  Jacob  Elton,  merchant 

1734  John  Rich,  merchant 

1735  Lionel  Lyde,  merchant 

1736  John  Blackwell,  merchant 

1737  Nathaniel  Day,  merchant 

1738  William  Jefferis,  merchant 

1739  Stephen  Clutterbuck, 

tobacconist 

1740  Henry  Combe  (linen  draper) 

1741  Richard  Bay  ley  (see  p.  238) 
John  Bartlett 

1742  Sir  Abraham  Elton,  Bart. 

1743  John  Berrow 

1744  John  Day,  merchai^t 

1745  William  Barnes,  sugar-baker 

1746  Edward  Cooper,  merchant 

1747  John  Foy,  merchant 

1748  Buckler  Weekes,  draper 

1749  Thomas  Curtis,  merchant 

1750  James  Laroche,  merchant 

1751  David  Peloquin,  merchant 

1752  John  Clement,  shipwright 

1753  Abraham  Elton,  merchant 

1754  Morgan  Smith,  sugar-baker 

1755  Henry  Dampier,  merchant 

1756  Giles  Baily,  druggist 

1757  William  Martin,  tobacconist 

1758  Henry  Mugleworth,  upholder 

1759  Jeremiah  Ames,  sugar- baker 

1760  John  Durbin,  drysalter 


Sheriffs. 
Edmund  Mountjoy,  Ab.  Elton,  jun. 
William  Bayly,  Poole  Stokes 
Richard  Gravett,  Henry  Watts 
John  Becher,  Henry  Swymmer 
William  Whitehead,  Richard  Taylor 
James  Donning,  Joseph  Jefferis 
Robert  Earle,  Peter  Day 
Henry  Nash,  John  Price 

Samuel  Stokes,  Edward  Foy 
Arthur  Taylor,  John  King 

Robert  Addison,  Jacob  Elton 


John  Rich,  Noblet  Ruddock 
Robert  Smith,  Lionel  Lyde 
John  Blackwell,  Nathaniel  Wraxall 
Nathaniel  Day,  William  Jefferis 
Michael  Puxton,  Stephen  Clutter- 
buck 
Ezekial  Longman,  Henry  Combe 
Richard  Bayley,  John  Bartlett 
Henry  Lloyd,  Abraham  Elton 
John  Berrow,  John  Day 
Edward  Buckler,  William  Barnsdale 
Edward  Cooper,  William  Barnes 
John  Foy,  Buckler  Weekes 
Michael  Pope,  Benjamin  Glisson 
Thomas  Curtis,  James  Laroche 
David  Peloquin,  John  Clement 
Morgan  Smith,  Abraham  Elton 
Joseph  lies,  Henry  Dampier 
John  Combe,  Giles  Bayly 
Michael  Becher,  David  Dehany 

Walter  Jenkins,  William  Martin 
John  Chamberlayne,  Henry  Mugle- 
worth 
William  Cossley,  Jeremiah  Ames 
Isaac  Elton,  John  Durbin 
John  Foy,  Buckler  Weekes 
Thomas  Marsh,  John  Noble 
Henry  Swymmer,  Richard  Farr,  jun. 
John  Berrow,  Giles  Bayly 
John  Daltera,  Isaac  Baugh 
William  Barnes,  jun.,  John  Curtis 
George  Weare,  Joseph  Love 
Henry  Dampier,  Isaac  Baugh 
Daniel  Woodward,  Edward  Whatley 
Henry  Bright,  Thomas  Harris 
Thomas  Knox,  Thomas  Deane 
Henry  Weare,  James  Hilhouse 
Nathaniel  Foy,  Austin  Goodwin 
Robert  Gordon,  Isaac  Piguenit 
Samuel  Webb,  John  Berrow 
Charles  Hotchkin,  John  Noble 
Isaac  Piguenit,  Samuel  Sedgley 


536 


THE    ANNALS   OF   BRISTOL. 


Mayors. 

1761  Isaac  Eltx)n,  merchant 

1762  John  Noble,  merchant 

1763  Richard  Farr,  merchant 

1764  Henry  Swymmer,  merchant 

1765  Isaac  Baugh,  gentleman 

1766  William  Barnes,  juii.,  sugar- 

baker 

1767  George  Weare,  grocer 

1768  Edward  Whatley,  sugar-baker 

1769  Thomas  Harris,  merchant 

1770  Thomas  Deane,  merchant 

1771  Henry  Bright,  merchant 

1772  Nathaniel  Foy,  brewer 

1773  Robert  Gordon,  merchant 

1774  Charles  Hotchkin,  gentleman 

1775  Thomas  Farr,  merchant 

1776  Andrew  Pope,  sugar-baker 

1777  John  Durbin,  jun.,  gentleman 

(knighted) 

1778  Sir  John  Durbin 


1779 


1780 
1781 
1782 
1783 
1784 
1785 


Michael  Miller,  jun.,  merchant 

(see  p.  442) 
John  Bull 

William  Miles,  merchant 
Henry  Cru^r,  merchant 
Edward  Brice,  sugar-baker 
John  Anderson,  merchant 
John  Farr,  rope-maker 
John  Crofts,  esquire 


1786  George  Daubeny,  sugar-baker 

1787  Alexander  Edgar,  esquire 

1788  Levi  Ames,  drysalter 

1789  James  Hill,  linen  draper 

1790  John  Harris,  hosier 

1791  John  Noble,  merchant 

1792  Henry  Bengough,  attorney 

1703  James  Morgan,  druggist 

1794  Joseph  Smith,  merchant 

1795  James  Harvey,  iron  merchant 

1796  James  Harvey,  iron  merchant 

1797  Thomas  Daniel,  merchant 

1798  Robert  Claxton,  merchant 

1799  John  Morgan,  druggist 

1800  William  Gibbons,  ironmonger 


Sheriffs. 
Joseph  Daltera,  William  Barnes,  jun. 
William  Weare,  Thomas  Farr 
Andrew  Pope,  John  Durbin,  jun. 
James  Laroche,  jun.,  John  Bull 
Isaac  Elton,  jun.,  Michael  Miller, 

jun. 
William  Miles,  Henry  Cruger 

Edward  Brice,  Alexander  Edgar 
John  Crofts,  Henry  Lippincott 
John  Merlott,  Geoi^  Dauben^' 
Isaac  Elton,  jun.,  Henry  Lippincott 
Levi  Ames,  Jeremy  Baker 
John  Noble,  John  Anderson 
Andrew  Pope,  Thomas  Pierce 
John  Durbin,  jun.,  James  Hill 
Edward  Brice,  John  Noble 
John  Farr,  John  Harris 
John  Fisher  Weare,  Philip  Pro- 

theroe 
Benjamin  Loscombe,  James  Morgan, 

jun. 
Edward  Brice,  John  Harford 


Samuel  Span,  Joseph  Smith 
Robert  Coleman,  John  Collard 
Rowland  Williams,  William  Blake 
John  Garnett,  Anthony  Henderson 
John  Fisher  Weare,  John  Harvey 
Joseph  Harford,  Stephen  Nash 

(knighted) 
Evan  Baillie,  Thomas  Daniel,  jun. 
John  Morgan,  Robert  Claxton 
James  Hill,  John  Harris 
Henry  Bengough,  John  Gordon,  jun. 
James  Moreran,  Rowland  Williams 
Joseph  Hariord,  Samuel  Span 
William  Gibbons,  Joseph  Gregory 

Harris 
Charles  Young,  John  Page 
Robert  Castle,  Joseph  Edye 
David  Evans,  John  Wilcox 
John  Foy  Edgar,  Azariah  Pinney 
Edward  Protheroe,  John  Span 
Daniel  Wait,  William  Fripp 
Henry  Bright,  Worthington  Brice 
Robert  Castle,  Samuel  Birch 


537 


MASTERS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  MERCHANT  VENTURERS. 

(The  compiler  is  indebted  for  this  list  to  the  Bristol  Times  awl  Mirror  of 
July  22,  1885.) 


1700  James  HoUedge. 

1701  James  HoUedge. 

1702  Thomas  Hort. 

1703  Thomas  Hort. 

1704  William  Clarke. 

1705  William  Clarke. 

1706  John  Batchelor. 

1707  John  Batchelor. 

1708  Abraham  Elton. 

1709  Anthony  Swymmer. 

1710  Thomas  Moore. 

1711  Gkjorge  Mason. 

1712  Abraham  Hooke. 

1713  Philip  Freke. 

1714  Henry  Watts. 

1715  Sir  John  Duddleston  (died) ; 

Henry  Watts. 

1716  John  Day  (mayor). 

1717  William  Swymmer. 

1718  Henry  Swymmer. 

1719  Abraham  Elton,  jun.  (mayor). 

1720  James  Downing. 

1721  Joseph  Earle. 

1722  John  Becher. 

1723  Thomas  Longman. 

1724  Samuel  Hunt. 

1725  Jeremy  Innys. 

1726  John  Black  well. 

1727  John  Norman. 

1728  Jacob  Elton. 

1729  Abel  Grant. 

1730  James  Hilhouse. 

1731  Edmund  Baugh. 

1732  Peter  Day. 

1733  Robert  Earle. 

1734  John  HoUedge. 

1735  James  Day. 

1736  John  Duckinfield. 

1737  John  Coysgarne. 

1738  Richard  Lougher. 

1739  Thomas  Eston. 

1740  William  Challonor. 

1741  Lionel  Lyde. 

1742  John  Day. 

1743  Richard  Henvill. 

1744  Walter  Lougher. 

1745  Arthur  Hart. 

1746  Robert  Smith. 

1747  Christopher  Willoughby. 

1748  John  Foy. 

1749  Michael  Becher. 


1750  Henry  Dampier. 

1751  James  Laroche. 

1752  William  Hare. 

1753  Nathaniel  Foy. 

1754  Edward  Cooper. 

1755  Henry  Swymmer. 

1756  Cranfield  Becher. 

1757  Abraham  Elton. 

1758  Henry  Casamajor. 

1759  Isaac  Bauch. 

1760  Joseph  Daltera. 

1761  WiUiam  Hart. 

1762  Richard  Farr. 

1763  Samuel  Smith. 

1764  Isaac  Elton. 

1765  William  Reeve. 

1766  James  Bonbonons. 

1767  Sir  A.  I.  Elton. 

1768  Samuel  Munckley, 

1769  Andrew  Pope. 

1770  WiUiam  Jones. 

1771  Thomas  Farr. 

1772  James  Daltera. 

1773  Isaac  Elton,  jun. 

1774  Robert  Smith. 

1775  Paul  Farr. 

1776  Henry  Gamett. 

1777  Samuel  Span. 

1778  Michael  Miller,  jun. 

1779  John  Powell. 

1780  Thomas  Perkins. 

1781  Henry  Cruger  (mayor). 

1782  Sir  James  Laroche. 

1783  John  Fowler. 

1784  GNjorge  Daubeny. 
17^  Jeremiah  Hill. 

1786  Edward  Brice. 

1787  John  Vaughan. 

1788  Henry  Hoohouse. 

1789  John  Daubeny. 

1790  George  G  ibbs. 

1791  Jeremiah  Hill,  jun. 

1792  Richard  Bright. 

1798  James  Martin  Hilhouse* 

1794  John  Gamett. 

1795  Joshua  Powell. 

1796  Joseph  Harford. 

1797  Charles  Hill. 

1798  John  Scandrett  Harford. 

1799  Samuel  Whitchurch. 

1800  Timothy  Powell. 


INDEX. 


Abbey  gateway,  345. 

Addison,  Jos.,  in  Bristol,  12*2. 

Admiralty  Court,Mayorand  the,  495. 

African  trade, extent  of,  89;  defended, 
89,  270-2 ;  suspended,  416. 

A^ue,  cliarm  for,  294. 

Aitken,  James,  426. 

Aldermen,  absentee,  454. 

Ale,  see  Beer.  [285,  268. 

Alehouses,   number  of,  18,  57,  199, 

Algerine  corsairs,  188,  281. 

Almshouses,  Tailoi*s',  43;  Foster's, 
46 ;  Stokes  Croft,  134 ;  Stevens',  116; 
Blanchard's,  134;  Ridley's,  188; 
Old  Maids',  218 ;  Fry's,  437. 

Almondsbury,  267,  359,  457. 

Amelia,  Princess,  visit  of,  164. 

America,  trade  restraints,  205,  414 ; 
Stamp  Act,  370;  war,  415,  420, 
428, 431, 439, 451 ;  local  trade  with, 
414,  429. 

Ames  family,  462,  468,  517. 

Amusements,  24,  333,  487,  527. 

Anchor  Society,  280. 

Anne,  Queen,  coronation,  43 ;  visit, 
44;  portrait,  45;  gift  to,  56; 
death,  106. 

Apple  brandy,  101. 

Army,  recruited  from  gaol,  41,  69, 
272,  514  ;  desertions,  246 ;  bounties, 
270,  432,  436,  440;  billeting,  '235; 
vagrants  impressed,  436;  regi- 
ments raised,  256,  506. 

Arno's  Vale,  285,  359. 

Art  School,  first,  523. 

Ashburton,  Lord,  370,  405,  ih. 

Ashley  Road,  406. 

Assembly  Rooms,  26,  208,  283,  307, 
420,487. 

Assizes,  soldiers  during,  223. 

Augustine's,  St.,  theatre  in,  61; 
Assembly  Room,  64,  420;  great 
house,  84  ;  improvements,  416. 

Aurora  Borealis,  114. 

Aust,  road  to,  331. 

Avon,  nuisances  in,  37,  254;  Navi- 
gation schemes,  94,  3G9 ;  boats  to 
Bath,  161,  164 :  obstructions,  117, 


254,  ih.]  proposed  floating  harbour, 
316,  362,  480,  496 ;  defences,  523. 

Baber's  Tower,  244. 
Back  Gate  removed,  211. 
Backsword  fighting,  27,  314. 
Baggs,  Richard,  148, 185. 
BaUlie,  Evan,  477,  508,  520. 
Baker,  Slade,  415 ;  Jer.,  448,  497. 
Bakers'    Ck)mpany,    272,    401,    468; 

"  foreign,"  22,  79 ;  subsidised,  378, 

516. 
Baker,  a  rebellious,  214;  knavish, 

272 ;  cheap,  401. 
Balloon,  first,  464. 
Balls,  early,  26,  208  ;  487. 
Banking,  early,  224,  282. 
Banks,  Bristol,  282,  297,892,  468,  507. 
Baptisms,  local,  8. 
Baptist  Mills  brass  works,  66,  71. 
Barbers'    Company,  219,  240,   381; 

charges,  809. 
Barrett,  William,  387. 
Barrington,  Daines,  341,  870 ;  Lord, 

312-3. 
Barton,  Dean,  347,  354. 
Barton  Hundred,  359.  [161,  164. 

Bath,  coaches  to,  140,  513 ;  bcMftts  to, 
Bath  Street  opened,  466. 
Bathavou  ferry,  246. 
Baths,  269,  315,  395,  499,  524. 
Bathing,  sea,  24,  249,  440. 
Bayley,  Richard,  238. 
Beaufort,  Dukes  of,  86,  110,  420. 
Becher  family,  179,210,268,807,893 
Beckford,  Rich.,  310,  8ia 
Beddoes,  Thomas,  504,  524.  [120 

Bedford,  Rev.  Arthur,  61,  62,  80,  86 
Bedminster,  2,  274 ;   gibbet  at,  227 

Bridewell,  227,  250;    revel,   139 

cunning    woman,    850;     clerical 

innkeeper,  159,  333 ;  colliery,  318 
Beer,  consumption  of,  13,  16,  235; 

price  of,  14,  235,  309,  356. 
Bellman,  city,  73,  492. 
Bengough,  Henry,  360,  507. 
Berkeley  Square,  471. 
Berkeley,  Nor  borne,  352;  G.C.,  469. 


538 


INDEX. 


539 


Berkeley,    Earls  of,  69,  111-2,  256, 

313, 420. 
Billiard  tables,  26,  116,  371,  529. 
Bird,  Edward,  E.A.,  523. 
Births  and  burials  tax,  41. 
Bishopric,  poverty  of,  35, 122, 316, 347. 
Bishops,  list  of,  .534 ;    Hall,  36,  88 ; 

Eobinson,  88, 100 ;  Smalridge,  103, 

119, 123 ;  Boulter,  127  ;  Seeker,  206; 

Gooch,  207  ;  Butler,  202,  207,  283  ; 

Conybeare,     316  ;     Hume,     316  ; 

Yonge,  345 ;  Newton,  JW5,  366. 
Bishops'  i)alace,  36,  283  ;  park,  393  ; 

orchara,  185. 
Bisse,  Rev.  Edw.,  Jacobite,  121. 
Bitton  parish,  crime  in,  469. 
Black  Castle,  68,  285,  329, 877,  »6.,391. 
Blackmail  in  Kingswood,  469. 
Blacksworth,  manor  of,  141. 
Blaize  Castle,  413,  435. 
Blenheim,  victory  of,  65. 
Blind,   Asylum   for,   498;  Merlott's 

charity,  529. 
Blind  steps,  368,  408. 
Bonny,  Wm.,  printer,  21,  48,  61. 
Books,  scarcity  of,  11, 163 ;  pedlars,  71. 
Boulter,  Bishop,  127. 
Boundaries,  city,  24  ;  extended,  422; 

parish,  243. 
Bowles,  Fi-ancis  C,  524. 
Bowling-gre<»ns,  25,  202,  37  L 
Boyce's  buildings,  400. 
Bragge,  Charles,  518. 
Branding  thieves,  69. 
Brandon  Hill,  378,  425. 
Brandy,  apple,  101 ;  French,  101. 
Brass  works,  14,  66 ;  extent  of  trade, 

96.  [155. 

Brass  pillars,  Corn  St.,  162,  183,  396, 
Bread,  dear,  nee  Dearth. 
Breakfasts  in  1700,  16. 
Brice,  Edward,  382. 
Brickdale,     John,    63,   304-5,    462; 

Matthew,  3,  383, 409,  444,  45<>,  491, 
Bricks,  early,  43,  59.  [495. 

Bridewell    i*ebuilt,    125;    enlarged, 

225  ;  sacked,  304  ;  state  of,  407. 
Bridge,  great  house  at,  45,  163. 
Bridge  Street,  369. 
Bridges,  James,  336,  352. 
Bridges,  Bristol,  i-e built,   334,   353; 

riots,    500;    Bridewell,    373;    St. 

John's,  327 ;  Stone,  290 ;  Needless, 
196;     Traitor's,    92,   526;    Draw- 
bridge, 99,  483. 
Bridgwater  elections,  246,  384. 
Briefs,  Church,  74,  266,  329. 
Bright   family,   392,  425,   439,   462, 

468,  473,  477,  508. 
Brislington,  gibbet  at,  227. 


Bristol,  Satires  on,  221,  411,  423,  508. 
Bristol  in  1700,  1-36 ;  in  1727, 161 ; 

in   1739,  222;   views  of,   3,   121; 

poetical  description  of,  96 ;  plan 

of,  285;    population,  6,  194,  292, 

422 ;  French  designs  on,  525. 
Bristol  regiments,  2o6,  506. 
Bristol  milk,  17,  104,  161. 
Bristol  manners  censured,  8,   161, 

377. 
Bristol  Channel  defenceless,  528. 
Britain,  Jonathan,  hanged,  398. 
Broad  Street,  market,  4,  193 ;  width 

of,  460,  467.  [tery,  372. 

Brunswick  Square,  372,  4/9;  ceme- 
Brutality,  popular,  192,  273. 
Bubb,  John,  68. 
Building  mania.  493. 
Bull,  John,  435,  442. 
BuUbaiting,  27. 
Burges,  Daniel,  474. 
Burgum,  Henry,  387,  412,  480. 
Burials,  tax  on,  41 ;  in  woollen,  9, 

302;  in  churclies,  182,  357. 
:   Burial  grounds,  264,  355,  358,  372, 

399  497. 
Burke,   Edmund,   409-13,   428,   431, 

432, 444 ;  tea  service,  413 ;  Bichard, 

455,505. 
Bush  family,  477,  507. 
But  and  Cudgel  playing,  314. 
Butchers'  ordinances,  211. 
'   Butler,  Bishop,  202.  207,  283. 
Butter,  Irish,  seizea,  112,  306. 
Buttons,  law  respecting,  125. 
Byng,  Admiral,  mania,  322. 


Caldwell,  J.,  highwayman,  430. 

Calendar  reformed,  298. 

Callowhill  Street,  818. 

Cambric  prohibited,  278. 

Camplin,  Rev.  John,  315,  348,  478. 

Canada,  conquest  of,  339. 

Canal  mania,  498. 

Candle  bell,  3i>4. 

Cann,  Sir  William,  251. 

Canning's     monument,     315 ;      his 

cotter,  386. 
Canning,  Mrs.,  at  theatre,  400. 
Canons'  Marsh,  36,  393. 
(yarbr3%  Capt.,  bravery  of,  281. 
Carpenters,     rules,    21,     181,    268 ; 

wages,  182,  208,  372. 
Carriers,  73.  269,  288,  430. 
Carts  forbidden,  68,  175,  252. 
Cary,  John,  32,  49. 
Castelman,  Rev.  J.,  326. 
Castle  Gate  removed,  351. 
Castle  Ditch  bath,  395.         (389, 423. 
Catcott  family,  119,  126,  353,  387, 


540 


INDEX. 


Cathedral    injured    by    storm,    57 
candlesticks,  77;  penitent  in,  94 
chapter    house    mutilate<{,     180 
library,  315 ;  services,  345 ;  graves 
in,  857:   lay  pluralists,  151,  863, 
431;    choir,    151,    364;    sale    of 
lectern,  583. 

Cave  family,  468,  477,  507,  521. 

Cemeteries,  see  Burial  grounds. 

Chamberlayne  familv,  463  473. 

Champion,  William,^  67,  244,  289, 
362,  368 ;  Richard,  364-5,  371,  381- 
3, 403, 409,  413,  453. 

Chandlers'  Company,  384. 

Chapels:  St.  Clement's,  42;  Dowry, 
260;    French,   155  j    Holy  Spirit 
358;    Lady    Huntingdon's,    420 
Hope,    420;   Lewin's  Mead,  483 
Mayor's,  see  St.  Mark's  Church 
Quakers',  270;  Redland,  1?3,  448 
Romanist,    115.     366,     442,    491 
Tabernacle,    306;    Trinity,    518 
Tucker    Street,    466;    Wesleyan, 
204,  498,  507. 

Charity  School,  first,  12 ;  see  Schools. 

Charlotte  Street,  471. 

Charter  of  Queen  Anne,  86 ;  Charters 
nnntjtHi    IOt 

Chatterton,  Thomas,  199,  358,  385. 

China  dinner  ware,  188;  Bristol, 
286,  381,  413,  453. 

Chocolate,  Bristol,  177. 

Chnst  Church  ^reat  lamp,  38 ;  ceme- 
tery, 264 ;  living,  424 ;  ground 
rents,  485. 

Christmas  Day,  "Old,"  298. 

Churches:  All  Saints',  91;  Christ 
Church,  228,  306,  459,  485;  St. 
Ewen's,  470,  496;  St.  Leonard's, 
368-9,  393 ;  St.  Mark's,  126,  305, 
324,  362,  431 ;  St.  Michael's,  408 ; 
St.  James',  154;  St.  Mary  Red- 
cliff,  73,  198,  321,  345,  358;  St. 
Nicholas's,  40,  119,  179,  215,  266, 
326,  352:  St.  Peter's,  281;  St. 
Paul's,  479;  St.  Philip's,  283,  364 ; 
St.  Stephen's,  57,  169,  181-2,  400, 
435;  Temple,  483;  St.  Thomas, 
487 ;  St.  Werburgh's,  329,  519. 

Church,  absentees  from,  326;  com- 
pulsory attendance,  481. 

Churchyards,  249,  264,  358,  399, 497. 

Churchman,  Walter,  177.  [357. 

Cider,  consumption  of,  235 ;  tax  on, 

Circus,  first,  401 ;  492. 

Clare,  Lord,  see  Nugent. 

Clare  Street  built,  893,  399. 

Clarkson,  Thomas,  in  Bristol,  473. 

Clergy :  Incomes  of,  92,  100 ;  at- 
tempts to  levy  clergy   rate,  98, 


462  ;  disloyal,  19,  119,  121 ;  plu- 
ralist, 851,  432,  518,  523;  non-re- 
sident, 468 ;  credulous,  348,  483. 

Clerke,  Clementina,  493. 

Clevedon,  traffic  with,  325. 

Clifton  (see  Hot  Well) :  In  1700,  2 ; 
in  1710,  87  ;  in  1723,  189 ;  in  1750, 
245 ;  in   1764,  363 ;  in   1775,  421 ; 
in   1790,  490;    church,   116,   381; 
churchyard,  472;  value  of  living, 
93,  109;  grotto,  139;  foxes,   etc., 
killed,  140;   whipping  post,    140; 
rateable  value,  313;  tithes,    141, 
851 ;  first  boarding  school,    190 ; 
population,  87,472;  Dowry  Square, 
158,  245,  363;  Boyce's  buildings, 
400 ;  Windsor  terrace,  454  ;  build- 
ing mania,  493 ;  the  Crescents,  494 ; 
York  hotel,  490 ;  Vauxhalls,  245, 
423 ;    Sion  Spring,  504 ;    Hotwell 
Road  spa,  506;    turnpikes,    406; 
Hope  Chapel,  420 ;  proposed  bridge, 
309 ;  part  of  included  in  city,  422 ; 
windmUl  burnt,  430;    treatment 
of  paupers,  481 ;  volunteers,  521 ; 
Assembly  room,  490. 

Clothing  trade,  41 ;  decline,  81, 
209,  ^,  515. 

Coaches,  private,  8, 274  ;  first  public, 
22 ;  mail,  458 ;  eight  wheeled,  513 ; 
"  flying,"  140,  172,  260,  309,  833, 
359,  367,  400,  418,  464. 

Coal  famine,  156. 

Coal  tar  discovered,  441. 

Cobweb,  wonderful,  106. 

Cockfighting,  25,  140,  170,  179,  432, 
469. 

Cockthrowing,  294. 

Cocoa  manufacture,  177. 

Coflfee,  price  of,  82,  395. 

Coffee  houses,  17,  97,  240,  392;  de- 
cline of,  241,  441. 

Coinage,  state  of,  323,  509. 

Coleridge,  Sam.  Taylor,  503. 

College  Green,  79,  325,  353 ;  road  to, 
199,  416 ;  watchbox,  455. 

College  Street  built,  393. 

Collieries,  Bedminster,  313. 

Collins,  Emanuel,  159,  383. 

Colston,  Edward,  in  Bristol,  46,  84, 
85 ;  his  school  schemes,  46,  80,  83  ; 
elected  M.P.,  85,  102 ;  conduct  to 
a  low  churchman,  86;  gifts,  92, 
199;  death,  129;  portraits,  46, 
130. 

Colston,  Francis,  110. 

Colston  Dinners,  first,  85,  102,  111; 
Parent  Society,  153;  Loyal,  299; 
Dolphin,  Grateful,  and  Anchor, 
280,532. 


INDEX. 


541 


Combe,  Henry,  213,  224:  Rich., 
883,  444 ;  William,  418. 

Companies,  trading,  21 ;  decline  of, 
181,  467;  carpenters,  181,  ^68; 
coopers,  2()8,  239,  467 ;  smiths,  468, 
bakers,  272,  401,  468;  chandlers, 
384;  innholders,  189;  barbers, 
219, 240,  381 ;  mercers,  181 ;  tailors, 
181,  460:  weavers,  470. 

Conduits,  Temple,  185  ;  St.  Nicholas, 
141,  353;  St.  Peter's  Pump,  877  ; 
All  Saints',  446 ;  St.  Stephen,  88. 

Conjurer,  travelling,  300. 

Consistory  Court,  94,  359. 

Convicts  forced  into  army,  etc..  41, 
69,  272,  514,  526;  pardoned,  90; 
transported,  150,  153;  murderous 
plot,  130. 

Conybeare,  Bishop,  316. 

Cook's  Folly,  266. 

Cooks,  strike  of,  21. 

Coopers'  Hall,  208,  239,  401. 

Copper  works,  66-8,  162. 

Com  Street  improved,  446. 

Coroners,  salaries  of,  129. 

Corporation  :  in  170i[).  29 ;  debt,  58, 
441,  450;  love  of  feasting,  31,  226; 
book  of  orders,  56,  232 ;  pensions 
to  members,  etc.,  69,  120,  128, 187, 
206,  219,  288,  243,  263,  302,  861, 
381, 402,  420,  436 ;  fee  farm  rents, 
70;  payments  to  M.P.s,  77;  citi- 
zens refuse  to  enter,  86-7,  219, 
508 ;  presents  of  wine,  77,  86,  87, 
104,  209,  281,  311,  402,  582;  de- 
fence of  the  slave  trade.  89,  90, 
249,  271,  477 ;  dissenters  disquali- 
fied, 94 ;  mayor's  chapel,  126,  305, 
324, 362;  hours  of  meeting,  16,  196, 
457;  state  swords,  100,  291;  civic 
maces,  134 :  mansion  house,  191, 
434,  449 ;  defaulting  chamber- 
lain, 218;  non-attendance,  237, 
253,  457  ;  secrecy  of  debates,  ^S  ; 
waits,  26,  114,  239 ;  countiy 
jaunts,  31,  246,  255;  entertain- 
ments, 300,  528;  love  of  turtle, 
323,  404,  517  ;  quari-els  with  dean 
and  chapter,  29,  126,  171,  340 ;  in- 
solvent members,  237,  361,  492; 
charity  to  West  Indies.  378,  892 ; 
treatment  of  endowed  schools, 
374 ;  and  of  city  library,  403 ; 
American   war  policy,    420,    428, 

440,  451 ;  official  salaries,  429-30, 
507;  illegalities  of  officials,  434; 
pitchforking  members,  422;  ab- 
sentee aldermen,  454;  family 
cliques  in,  436 ;  sales  of  property, 

441,  450;     appropriates   charity 


funds,  443,  496;  clothing  of  ser- 
geants, etc.,  461 ;  opposed  by  city, 
467,  488 ;  fees  to  coachmen,  471 ; 
receipts  from  town  dues,  479 ;  re- 
fusals of  the  mayoralty,  435,  495, 
507-8,  532 ;  unpopularity  of,  488, 
504,  o08,  527;  election  of  alder- 
men, 497  ;  costly  deputations,  485, 
517. 

Corsairs,  ships  taken  by,  188,  281. 

Cossins,  John,  173,  448. 

Coster,  Thomas,  66,  188,  224,  239. 

C/otham,  disorders  at,  281, 404;  tower, 
303. 

Cottle,  Joseph,  510-13. 

Cotton  factories,  123, 196,  482,  5(6. 

Cotton  dresses  forbidden,  42, 125, 196. 

Council  House  rebuilt,  59;  a  free 
club,    217 ;   proposed    rebuilding, 

467,  470. 

Courtney,  Stephen,  75, 146. 

Crediton,  subscription  for,  249. 

Credulity,  see  Superstition. 

Creswick  family,  243. 

Creswicke,  Dean,  170,  201. 

Crewes  Hole  brass  works,  67 ;  water 
works,  83. 

Cricket,  early,  297. 

Criminal  law,  state  of,  847. 

Crosses :  High,  186, 325, 853  ;  Temple, 
466;  Redcliff,  358;  St.  Peter's, 
377. 

Cruger,  Henry,  391,  897,  409-11,417, 
440,  444,  446-7,  456,  477,  478,  489. 

Cumberland  Street,  872. 

Cursing,  profane,  169,  263. 

Custom  House,  60 ;  new,  82,  107 ; 
strange  collectors,  68,  412;  sine- 
cures, 451. 

Daines,  Sir  AVm.,  42,  (36,  85,  102, 108, 

124,  130-1. 
Dampier,  Aid.  Henry,  291,  374. 
Daniel,  Thomas,  455,  468,  473,  477, 

480,  525. 
Darby,  Abraham,  71 ;  Mary,  336. 
Daubeny,    George,  440,  446-8,  456, 

468,  4/7,  504. 

Davis  family.  366,  392,  472. 

Davy,  (Sir)  Humphry,  504. 

Day  family,  45,  58,   121,    144,   168 
206,  333;  great  house,  45,  163. 

Deans :  Royse,  36 ;  Booth,  170;  Cres- 
wicke, 170,  201;  Chamberlayne, 
276,  325 ;  Warburton,  327 ;  Squire, 
828-9 ;  Barton,  347,  354 ;  Hallam, 
488;  Layard,  588. 

Dean  and  Chapter,  86 ;  estates,  141, 
185,  393,  896 ;  quarrels,  276,  325 ; 
negligence,   352,  845,  847;  treat- 


ment  of  quire,  151,  864,  481 ;  dis- 
pose of  High  Cross,  325 ;  and  of 
lectern,  538. 

Deane,  Thoraas,  268,  850,  392. 

Deanery  repaired,  328. 

Deartii  and  distress,  78, 87,  16G,  209, 
225,  303,  323,  377,  880,  454,  485, 
516,  531. 

Debtors,  imprisoned,  misery  22- 
808,  3.55,  417;  im  ressed  to 
army  aud  navy.  69,  5  re  eased 
169,247,279,417. 

Defence,  National,  fund  2  6  506 
525. 

Delaval.  ship,  117. 

Demoniac,  Yatton,  483. 

Denmark  Street,  115. 

Dicker,  Samnel,  267. 

Dineley   murder,  228;    Lady    28 
Edward,  238. 

Directory,  firat  local,  420. 

Dissenters,  treatment  of,  91,  103. 

Distilling  trade,  7, 101,  290. 

Dock,  Champion's  (Mere bants'),  368, 
422 ;  Sea  Mills,  98,  171,  296, ;  pro- 
posed floating,  317, 3G2, 480,  496. 

Dolman,  John,  265. 

Dolphin  Street,  369. 

Dolphin  Society,  280. 

Donn,  Benjamin,  367,  898,  403. 

Dover,  Dr.  Thomas,  74,  76. 

Dowry  Square,  15a,  245,  868. 

Draper,  Sir  William,  374,381. 

Drawbridge,  9il ;  proposed  fixed 
bridge,  483. 

Drawing  school,  first,  523. 

Dress  ofcitizens,  300,  423,  460. 

Drinking  habits,  18,  31,  40, 309,  532. 

Drunkenness,  18,  27 ;  punishment 
for,  169. 

Duoie,  Loid,  318. 

Duckbunting  dav,  24,  129. 

Ducking  Stool,  27, 131. 

Duddleston,  Sir  John,  57, 149. 

Duels,  local,  lltH,  505,  524. 

Duke  and  Duchi^ss  privatfiers,  71. 

Duncan,  Lord,  fi'ee.iom  to,  522. 

Dunning,  John,  recorder,  370,  405, 

Durbin  family,   330,  SiS,  431,  436, 

454. 
Durdham  Down,  mines,  105 ;  races, 

21,  122,  278;   murders,  104,  218; 

Wallia's  wall,  266 ;   Ostrich  inn, 

25, 122,  279, 314,  432, 490. 

Earle,  Joseph,  m,  lOJ,  108,  130,  ISO ; 
Giles,  226,  ,334. 


Eaatarbrook,  Bev.  J.,  teal  and  credu- 
lity, 483.  ib. 
Easton,  inn  at,  359. 
Ecclesiastical  Court,  94,  359. 
Education,  state  of,  11.  [449. 

Edwards,   Thomas,  102,  106;   Sam., 
Elbridge,  John.  199,  218. 
E  ec  pa       m     tarv  — ( 

O  05     bb 


a  ,20  2      3  8  44 


«,  early,  7, 14,  82,  287. 


ess         OH      U*    »U4 
E    pern        case     or  98 

Elton,   Sir   Ab.,   95,   130    160,   162; 
I       family,  127,  IGO,  184,  188,  235,  239, 
I       282,  381,  412,434,  503,  517. 
I   Erabw-go  on  shipping,  514. 
Emigration,  early,  152,  826,  4oa 
Entertainments,  300, 833,  401, 528. 
Equestrianism,  3S3,  401,  492. 
Esther,  ship,  gallantry  of,  513. 
Estlin,  Eev.  Dr..  518.  [117. 

Evil,  King's,  touching  for,  55,  56, 
Eichange,  proposed,  118,  180,  218, 
226;   opened,    247;    plate   found, 
238;    brass  pillars,   396;  outrage 
at,  440. 
Excise  scheme,  Walpole's,  183. 
Excommunication  of  scolds,  360. 
Executions,  27  ■  list  of,  136, 295 ;  ex- 
cessive number  of,  469;  survivals 
after  hanging,  197  ■  Capt.  Goodere, 
231;   clergy  at,  2(fe;    for   trivial 
crimes,   347 ;    curious   case,    23?  -, 
scenes  at,  262,  294. 

Fairs,  the  great,  64,  178,  390;  West 
I       Street.  I6G. 
I   Fane,  Thomas,  261,  3-'A. 
;   Farley,  family,  50, 51,  292. 
I   Farr,  family,  403, 413,  485. 
I   Fecham,  Stephen,  167. 

Felons,  made  soldiers  41,  69,  272, 
514;  pardoning  of,  90;  trans- 
ported, 150,  153. 

Fencing  master,  unlucky,  116. 

Fillwood  forest,  191. 

Fire,  precautions  against,   53,  226, 
I       356. 

J   Fire  Insurance  offices,  54, 393. 
I   Pires,   fatal,  310,  ^6;    incendiary, 
1       171, 426. 
I   Fish,  supply,  394,  485,  531. 


INDEX. 


543 


Fishing  in  Avon,  372. 

Fishponds,  prison,  487, 451,  520,  533 ; 
common,  437.  [480,  m). 

Floating  harbours,  proposed,  316, 3G2, 

flogging,  punishment  by,  180,  315, 
356,  465. 

Floods,  great,  125,  208,  533. 

Flower,  Joseph,  288. 

Food,  cheapness  of,  48;  excessive 
deamess,  531. 

Forlorn  Hope  Estate,  40. 

"  Foreigners,"  treatment  of,  20,  116, 
176,  186,  197,  215,  327,  356. 

Foreign  Protestants*  Bill,  289. 

Fortune  telling,  224. 

Fortunes,  mercantile,  462.  (341. 

Foster,  (Sir)  Michael,  192,  197,  224. 

Foundlings,  disposal  of>,  386. 

Fox,  Dr.  Long,  503. 

Frank,  Kichard.  287 ;  T.,  382. 

Frank lyn,  Joshua,  98. 

Freedom,  admissions  to,  21,  123, 213, 
260, 313,  340, 370, 874, 413, 420, 428, 
452,  453, 455, 469, 491, 517,  522  ;  ex- 
cessive fees,  260,  356.  [432. 

Freedom  acquired  by  marriage,  411, 

Freeling,  (Sir)  Francis,  458. 

Freeman's  Copper  Co.,  67. 

Freke  family,  108, 145. 

French  Chapel,  155. 

French  man  of  war  taken,  332. 

French  prisoners,  250,  339,  437,  451, 
520,  533. 

French  wars,  42,  100,  343,  499.    [525. 

French  invasions  menaced,  339,  519, 

Frenchay  highwayman,  879. 

Frigates  built,  434,  448,  4<36. 

Fripp,  family,  178,  831. 

Froom,  fishing  in  the,  24;  floods, 
125,  176,  208,  533. 

Frost,  remarkable,  78. 

Fry,  Joseph,  177,  382. 

Fry,  William,  Mercy  House,  437. 

Funeral  customs,  8,  122,  1*2^>,  163, 
169,  208. 

Gallows,  see  Executions;  disorders 
near,  281,  404. 

Gambling,  116,  223. 

Gaol,  the,  see  Newgate. 

Gardens,  city,  25,  301. 

Gates:  Abbev,  345:  Temple  and 
Redcliif,  175,  211,  396;  Newgate, 
57,  377,  471;  Back,  211;  St. 
Nicholas,  3,  215,  225,  266, 335, 352 ; 
Needless  Bridge,  341;  Queen  and 
Castle  Street,  351 ;  Pithay,  359  ; 
Blind,  394;  Froom,  408;  Small 
Stn^et,  368,  408;  Lawford's,  8,  175, 
268,  391. 


( 


Gentry,  county,  and  turnpikes,  156, 

275. 
George  I.,  accession,  106:  coronation 

riot,   lOfj;   dinner,  120;   |)ortrait, 

114. 
George  II.,  accession,  159;  portrait, 

t7>. ;  quarrel    with    his    sou,  236; 

death,  842. 
Greorge  III.,  accession,  342 ;  election 

gifts,  444, 448 ;  attempted  murder, 

470;    at    Cheltenham,    484;    re- 
covery, 485. 
German  Protestant  exiles,  80. 
Gibbets,  104,  227,  248,  280,  350. 
Gibbs,  (Sir)  Vicary,  505 ;  Geo.,  507. 
Giles,  Richard,  269,  848. 
Gin  drinking,  198,  290,  300. 
Glass,  table,  14,  45;  price  of,  318; 

local  works,  163,  486. 
Gloucester  Journal^  162. 
Gloucestershire,  elections,  42  ;  wages 

in,  182 ;  society,  45,  188. 
Goldney,  Thomas,  72,  74, 139,  2^*7. 
Goldwin^  Bev.  Wm.,  96,  119. 
Good  Friday  neglected,  463. 
Goodere,  Capt.,  murderer,  228. 
Goods,  rates  of  carriage,  78,  269. 
Gordon   family,  468,  472,  477,  493, 

532. 
Gore,  Col.  William,  520. 
Grateful  Society,  280. 
Great  George  Street,  425,  494. 
Greep,  Henry,  50. 
Grenville,  Geo.,  a  freeman,  370. 
G rev i lie,  Giles,  205. 
Ground  rents,  valuable,  485. 
Gunpowder  magazine,  25<>,  517, 
Gunpowder  Plot  Day,  840,  39(5. 

Hackney  coaches,  first,  180;  277,  456, 

467  486. 
Hair  'i^wder,  842,  418,  448,  515. 
Hallam,  Dean,  488. 
Hangman,  a,  hanged,  237. 
Hanover  Street  built,  115. 
Hardwicke,  Ijord,  209. 
Harford,  Joseph,  3<)4,  382,  403,  409, 

431,  439,  468>  476,  500,  507 ;  family, 

382,  392,  435,  473. 
Harfoi*d's  Brass  works,  67. 
Harris,  Thomas,  412,  477. 
Harson,  Daniel,  393,  412. 
Hart  family,  77,  107,  111,  130,  160, 

194,  330. 
Harvest,  a  plentiful,  246.  [154. 

Hawkins,  John,  knighted,  45-6,  74, 
Hawksworth  family,  67,  74,  175, 
Haystacks  in  city,  26,     . 
Hay*itack,  Maid  of  the,  425. 
Haythome,  Joseph,  507. 


544 


INDEX. 


Henbury,  excursions  to,  457. 

Heylyn,  John,  307,  367. 

High  Street,  97,  225;  market,  4, 193, 
253. 

Highwayman,  *' gentleman,"  379; 
Bristol,  430.  |471. 

Highway  robberies,   210,   227,   430, 

Hill,  Rev.  Rowland,  307. 

Hippisley,  John,  15,  ()S. 

H©bbs,  John,  05,  117. 

Hobhouse,  Isaac,  135, 142-5, 152 ;  H., 
462;  Ben.,  518. 

Hoblyn,  Robert,  239,  267,  281,  310. 

Hogarth,  Wm.,  pictures,  321. 

Holledge,  James,  74,  218. 

Holmes,  lighthouse  at,  200. 

Holworthy,  Lady^  99. 

Hooke,  Anarew,  ol,  240,  279 ;  Abra- 
ham, 92,  94. 

Horfield,  living,  93, 109. 

Horseback,  travelling  on,  48,  246, 
255. 

Hospitals,  see  Poor  and  Schools. 

Hospital,  proposed  sailors',  269. 

Hot  Weil  in  1703,  57 ;  theatre,  62 ; 
fashionable  life  at,  139,  244,  245, 
3fX),  429,  490;  Pope's  description 
of,  222 ;  water  sold  in  London,  151 ; 
poems  on,  139,  288;  Lebeck  inn, 
311 :  Lisbon  eartliquake,  316;  lead 
works  near,  321;  Dr.  Randolph 
on,  361 ;  water  hawked  in  streets, 
361 ;  Romanist  scare,  366 ;  Duke 
of  York  at,  367;  Vauxhalls,  245, 
423 ;  public  refused  a  supply,  449, 
4JX);  well  to  be  let,  4(i3;  road  to, 
486,  497  ;  inn  ciuari-els,  486;  high 
charges  and  decline,  489;  Sion 
Spring,  504 ;  spa  near,  506 ;  Colon- 
nade built,  469. 

Hot  Well,  the  New,  264,  464.        [10. 

Houses,  timber,  3;  meanly  furnished, 

Howard,  John,  on  prisons,  406,  437, 
406. 

Howe,  Lord,  his  victory,  506,  453. 

Huguenots,  the,  126,  155,  421. 

Hume,  David,  in  Bristol,  189. 

Huntingdon,  Lady,  279,  420. 

Impressment,  see  Press-gangs. 

Improvement  scheme,  great,  368. 

Incendiaries,  Bristol,  171-2,  426. 

Informers,  common,  207,  278. 

Inch  bald,  Mrs.,  400. 

Infirmary  erected,  199;  state  of, 
318;  chaplaincy,  413;  rebuilt,  479. 

Innkeeper,  a  clerical,  159,  333. 

Inns:  White  Lion,  17,  257,  392; 
Bear,  263 ;  Lamb,  269 ;  Ostrich,  25, 
122,  279,  314,  432.  490;  Guilders, 


I  180;  Three  Tuns,  180,  280;  Ex- 
change, 248 ;  Montague,  2(^ ;  Bar- 
ton Hundred,  359 ;  Bush,  405,  485 ; 
York  House,  490 ;  carriers,  288. 

Insolvents,  see  Debtors. 

Insurance  offices,  54,  393. 

Intelligence  office,  242. 

Invasions,  threatened,  339,  519,  525. 

Irish  leather,  96;  butter,  etc.,  pro- 
hibited, 7,  112, 306,  364,  384 ;  cop- 
per  coinage,  133 ;  wool  trade,  19o, 
432;  vagrants,  227;  trade  opened, 
324,  432-3 ;  giant,  441. 

Iron:  early  founder,  71;  price  of, 
315;  local  trade,  206  \  American, 
205. 

I  Jack  the  Painter's  fires,  426. 

Jacobites :  local,  19 ;  riot,  107  ;  plots 
'  to  seize  Bristol,  110,  113;  arms 
I  seized,  113;  dislo^^al  clergy,  19, 
i  119, 121 ;  Lo veil's  case,  117 ;  local 
I       demonstrations,    139,     164,     193, 

257-8 ;  capture  of  a  warship,  256. 
'  Jacob's  Wells  theatre,  63, 439 ;  water 
I       works,  478 ;  baths,  507. 

Jamaica,  prosperity  of,  234. 

James',  St.,  Square,  114  ;  Barton,  421, 
;       434.  [473. 

■   Jefferis,  Wm.,  150,  191,  203,  209, 463, 
I   Jenkins'  cheap  bread,  401. 

Jenner,  Henry,  530. 
I  Jessop,  William,  481,  496. 
'   Jews'  Naturalisation  Bill,  299. 

Jews'  burial  ground,  3S7  \  syna- 
gogue, 470. 

John  Street,  491. 

Johnson,  Dr.,  in  Bristol,  422. 

Jones,  John,  123,  242.  [165. 

Judges,  entertainment  of,  32,  48,  59, 

Juries,  accommodation  of,  399. 

Kennet  and  Avon  Canal,  499. 

Kentish,  Dr.,  524. 

Kidnapping,  local,  56,  152. 

King,  John,  101. 

Kingsdown,  2,  205,  343 ;  patrol,  454. 

King's  Evil,  magical  cures,  55,  56, 
117. 

King's  Parade,  494. 

King's  Square,  318.  (224. 

Kings weston  road,  65,  331 ;  House, 

Kingswood,  lawless  colliers,  78,  156, 
211,  219,  303,  469, 515;  rangership, 
190 ;  Whitefield  at,  201 ;  schools, 
203,  272;  fire  at,  267:  church, 
283:  Common,  437;  blackmail 
paid,  469. 
,  Knight,  Sir  John,  77,  120,  290; 
I       Anne,  1*20 ;  John,  78. 


INDEX. 


545 


Knowle,  prison  at,  8S9, 437. 
EoBciusko  in  Bristol,  522. 

Labour,  hoars  of,  72,  182,  851. 
Ladies,  illiteracy  of,  12 ;  ill-treated 

in  streets,  278. 
Lamb  inn,  witchcraft  at,  848. 
Lambton,  Wm.  Henry,  504. 
Lamplighters'  Hall,  889. 
Land  tax  redeemed,  529.  [477. 

Laroche,  (Sir)  James,  268,  884,  402, 
Lawford's  Oate,  8, 175, 268 ;  removed, 

891 ;  prison,  112,  407,  465. 
Lawrence,  (Sir)  Thomas,  892,  487. 
Leadworks  nuisance,  821. 
Leather,  sales  of,  297  ;  bad,  154. 
Lee,  Bey.  Charles,  874-6. 
Leicester,  a  journey  to,  89. 
Levant  trade,  805. 
Lewdness,  punishment  of,  27, 170. 
Lewin's    Mead,    residents   in,  421, 

488. 
Lewis,  Sir  Wm.,  56,  68;  David,  484, 

491,  518. 
Library,  City,  rebuilt,  210,  867,  408 ; 

circulating,    168;    Chapter,  815; 

Library  Society,  408. 
Licensing  system,  268 ;  see  Alehouses. 
Lighting,  public,  5, 18,  80 ;  new  Act, 

87;   defects,   82;  Bill,  217;  Act, 

277,  869;  in^rovement  Bill,  467  ; 

deficient,  527. 
Lime  trade,  459. 

Lippincott,  Sir  Henry,  444-^.    [581. 
Living,  cheapness  of,  88 ;  deamess. 
Lock-out,  early,  851. 
Lodge  Street,  456. 
Lodgings,  bill  foiy88. 
Logwo(M  mills,  482. 
London,  first  coach  to,  22 ;  wagons, 

78,  269,  288.  [420. 

Lord  Lieutenants,  69,  110,  818,  852, 
Louisa,  Story  of,  425. 
Lovell,  Chris.,  117 ;  Eobert,  508,  510. 
Loyalty  demonstrations,  237,  499. 
Lukins,  Geo.,  imposture  of,  488. 
Lunell,  Peter,  476. 

Macaula^,  Lord,  487. 

Maces,  civic,  184. 

Madagascar  slave  trade,  127. 

Mail  robberies,  210. 

Mails :  London,  17,  285;  to  Chester, 
88 ;  accelerated,  855 ;  first  coaches, 
458 ;  to  Birmingham,  459. 

Man  of  War,  French,  captured,  882 ; 
English  recaptured,  259,  882. 

Mansion  House,  civic,  191,  484, 449. 

Manufactures,  local,  7,  89,  414. 

Map  of  environs,  867. 


Marat,  J.  P.,  in  Bristol,  482. 

Markets :  in  streets,  4,  88, 198,  258 ; 
com,  151,  471;  hay,  176,  457; 
Exchange,  198,  258;  St.  James's, 
895;  on  Back,  97,  422;  fish,  88, 
458 ;  cheese,  152,  471 ;  regulations, 
198,258. 

Marriages,  early  hour  of,  16 ;  clan- 
destine, 158,  285,  888,  498 ;  notices 
of,  239,  880. 

Marsh,  Bristol,  25,  42 ;  Canon's,  86, 
898 ;  Dean's,  185. 

Mayor's  dues,  194,  415,  517. 

Mayors:  list  of,  584;  attempt  to 
obtain  a  lord  mayor,  29 :  an  un- 
popular, 65;  deaths  of,  121,  128, 
288,  442 ;  refusals  to  accept  office, 
485 ,  495,  507-8,  582  ;  salary,  429, 
507,  582;  Chapel,  126,  805,  824, 
862,  481 ;  carriage,  209,  291 ;  holi- 
day,  196;  scabbard,  86,  291; 
cursing  a  mayor,  117;  freemen, 
870 ;  right  to  sit  as  judges,  495. 

Meat,  regulations  touching,  211, 
254 ;  pnce  of,  191,  844. 

Medical  schools,  early,  264,  524: 
costumes,  178 ;  licenses  granted 
by  Church,  25a 

Members  of  Parliament  :  $ee 
Elections ;  payments  to,  58 ;  gifts 
of  wine,  77,  86, 281,  811. 

Mendicants,  treatment  of,  121. 

Mercantile  incomes,  7. 

Merchants,  fortunes  of  local,  462. 

Merchant  Venturers  Society :  List 
of  Masters,  587;  defence  of  the 
slave  trade,  89;  wharfage  dues, 
81,  99,  817;  hall,  42,  99,  218; 
taboos  Quakers,  91;  politics  of, 
189;  policy  towards  America, 
870,  428,  489;  change  of  politics. 
485 ;  dock,  868,  422;  treatment  ot 
the  Hot  Well,  489. 

Merchant  Tailors  Company,  181, 
460 ;  almshouse,  48. 

Merlott^  John,  his  charity,  529. 

Methodism  in  Bristol,  early,  200. 

Michael's,  St.,  the  fashionable  sub- 
urb, 97, 166. 

Miles  family,  298,  417,  448,  478,  476, 
478,50a 

Militia  musters,  69,  79,  t6.,  85,  824. 

Miller,  Michael,  190,  268,  805,  415, 
442 ;  Wm.,  282,  297,  462. 

"  Mint,"  the,  83.  [224. 

Money,  difficulty  in  remitting,  180, 

Montague  Street,  871. 

More,  Hannah,  881,  878,  410,  412 
428,  425,  461, 468, 492. 

Morocco,  envoy  from,  225. 

KN 


546 


INDEX. 


Murders :  Maccartny^s,  104 ;  by  ship 
captains,  151,  198;  by  Capt. 
Gkxxiere,  228;  Cann's  coachman, 
248 ;  White  Ladies',  279  ;  of  a 
woman,  280 ;  of  the  Warner,  851 ; 
Mrs.  Buscombe,  862. 

Murderer's  body  destroyed,  192. 

Musical  Festivals,  161,  808,  827,  407, 
480,  582  ;  in  theatre,  897,  489. 

Nash,  Stephen,  68,  468,  470. 

Naturalisation  Bill.  289. 

Navigation  School,  99. 

Navy,  recruited  from  gaol,  69  ;  ini- 

.  pressmen ts,  bm  Press-gangs ; 
Bristol  ships,  484,  448,  466; 
bounties  for  men,  69,  428,  440, 
500,  514 ;  successes  of,  452-8,  506, 
522. 

Nelson  (Lord),  a  freeman,  522. 

Nelson  Street  opened,  496. 

Neptune  figure,  185,  466. 

Newcastle.  Duke  of,  freedom  to,  840. 

Newfoundland  trade,  469. 

Newgate,  closed  on  Sundays,  57. 

Newgate :  the  city  gaol,  81 ;  epide- 
mics in,  126,  164;  treatment  of 
suspected  criminals,  172 ;  charges 
of  keeper,  237,  279 ;  drinking  in, 
855, 471 ;  physician,  209 ;  chaplain, 
892,  420 ;  i-epaired,  896  ;  Howard's 
account  of,  406 ;  distress  during 
dearth,  808,  454;  proposed  new 
gaol,  488.     And  see  Debtors. 

Newnham,  Rev.  T.,  killed,  416. 

Newspapers,  early,  48,  50;  later, 
292 ;  restrictions  on,  267 ;  taxes  on, 
486. 

Newton,  Bishop,  845,  866. 

Nicholas  Street :  narrowness  of,  181 ; 
passage  through  crypt,  215; 
through  tower,  353 ;  conduit,  141, 
858. 

Nicholas',  St.,  vestry,  326. 

Noble,  John,  and  the  judges,  495. 

Non-jurors,  local,  19,  119. 

Norfolk,  Duke  of,  a  freeman,  455. 

North,  Lord,  a  f  reenaan,  420. 

Northington,  Lord,  anecdote,  284. 

Norton's  Folly,  266. 

Nott,  Dr.  John,  5(M. 

Nugent,  Robert  (Lord  Clare,  Earl 
Nugent),  809,  311,  340,  344,  378, 
888,  409,  413,  432. 

Oar,  silver,  263. 

O'Brien,  Patrick,  441. 

Offices,  meanness  of  business,  40. 

Old  style  abolished,  298. 

Oliffe,  John,  128. 


I  Orange,  Prince  of,  visit  of,  187, 
Orchard  Street  built,  115. 
Ordnance  Survey,  5^. 
Ormond,  Duke  of,  104,  110. 
Osborne,  Jeremiah,  260. 

Packhorses,  traffic  by,  68, 73,  325, 

Palatines,  poor,  80. 

Palmer,  John,  489,  457-9. 

Panics,  financial,  499,  522. 

Paper  hangings,  882. 

Pardons  for  criminals,  90. 

Parish  clerks,  863,  431. 

Parish  feasts,  116,  525 ;  boundaries, 
beating,  248. 

Park  Street  built,  227,  332,  833. 

Parliament,  members  of,  see  Elec- 
tions; payments  to,  77;  gifts  of 
wine,  77,  86,  281,811;  reporting^ 
debates,  162. 

Patriotic  funds,  256,  506,  525. 

Patronage,  Government,  124,  451. 

Pauper  badges,  78,  380. 

Pauperism,  see  Poor. 

Paving  Act,  277 ;  new  Bills,  467. 

Peace  of  1718, 100;  of  1749,  274  ;  of 
1768,  857 ;  of  1788,  458. 

Peach  famUy,  68, 190,  390,  397,  403, 
445,  456,  489. 

Pedley,  J.  G.,  frauds,  450. 

Peloquin,  Mary  Ann,  charity,  435. 

Penance  in  the  cathedral,  94. 

Penn  Street,  8ia 

Penn,  William,  77,  8ia 

Pen  Park  Hole  fatality,  416. 

Penpole,  excursions  to^  381. 

Perry,  Richard,  and  his  wife,  493. 

Pet«r  Street  Cross  and  Pump,  377. 

Pewter  platters,  14, 45, 164, 188,  214, 

Philip's,  St.,  and  militia,  79 ;  hedge- 
hogs in,  140. 

Phihpps,  Sir  John,  810,  811. 

"  Philosopher  in  Bristol,"  The,  418. 

Pigs  in  the  streets,  4,  527. 

Pill,  road  to,  825.  [896,  455. 

Pillars,  Brass,  Com  Street,  162, 188. 

Pillory,  the,  27 ;  riotous  scenes,  148, 
207. 

Pine,  William,  177,  294. 

Piracy  by  Bristol  crews,  851,  397. 

Pitt,  W.  (Earl  of  Chatham)  a  free- 
man, 340. 

Pitts,  Capt.  Sam.,  gallantry  of,  166, 

Plan  of  Bristol,  Bocques',  285. 

Plate,  silver,  local  stores,  13;   cor- 
porate, 78 ;  discovery  of,  288. 

Playbills,  early,  61. 

Pluralism,  clerical,   351,  482,  518, 
523 ;  lay,  151,  868, 481. 

Pneumatic  Institute,  .5Q4« . 


INDEX. 


6i7 


Pocock,  George,  517. 

Podmore,  John,  180. 

Pointz  Pool  fair,  166. 

Police  constables,  172. 

Political  bitterness,  18, 103,  107,  447. 

Poor,  Corporation  of :  founded,  32 ; 
early  troubles,  54,  81,  103 ;  buy^  a 
farm,  55 ;  credulity  of  guardians, 
55 ;  infant  labour,  72,  514 ;  educa- 
tional views,  72,  80 ;  gift  to,  73 ; 
pauper  badges,  78,  380 ;  increase 
of  pauperism  and  rates,  81,  103, 
236,  252-3,  380,  464,  485  \  church- 
wardens become  guardians,  103; 
party  feeling,  103, 123 :  treatment 
of  vagrancy,  121 ;  aebts,  124 ; 
whipping  paupers,  465 ;  redistri- 
bution of  rates,  485 ;  factory  in 
workhouse,  514  ;  Baggs'  fraud,  1^. 

Pope,  Alex.,  in  Bristol,  222. 

Popery,  anti,  riots,  442. 

Population  of  city,  6,  194,  292,  422. 

Port,  danger  from  fire,  361;  float 
schemes,  316,  362,  480,  496 ;  regu- 
lations, 394 ;  defences  of,  528 ;  see 
Mayor's  dues  and  Town  dues. 

Port  wine,  first  appearance,  101. 

Portishead,  manor,  31 ;  battery,  524. 

Portland,  Duke  of,  visit  of,  471 ;  por- 
trait of,  487. 

Portland  Square,  494. 

Post  chaise  travelling,  262,  404. 

Posts  from  London,  17,  235,  395  ;  to 
Chester,  38;  Exeter,  39;  Salis- 
bury, 355;  rates  of  postage,  78, 
344 ;  Palmer's  acceleration,  457 ;  to 
Birmingham,  459 ;  penny  post,  .500. 

Post  Office,  early,  39,  242;  in  Com 
Street,  263;  extent  of  staff,  416; 
Francis  Freeling,  4.58. 

J'otteries,  Bristol,  7,  287-8. 

Powell,  William,  891, 

Press-gang  brutalities,  168,  216,  314, 
322,  337,  440. 

Pretender,  the,  in  Bristol,  257,  319. 

Prince's  Street  built,  149. 

Prisoners  of  war,  see  French. 

Prisoners  for  debt,  see  Debtors. 

Privateering:  ships  Duke  and 
Duchess,  74;  (1739)  216;  (1744) 
249;  (1747)  267;  (1756)  320,  888; 
(1762)  351;  (1775)  415,  436;  Royal 
Family  priv.,  255,  259 ;  local 
losses,  338,  436;  gallant  feats  of, 
234,  247,  250-1,  256,  259,  268,  832, 
343;  crew  turned  pirates,  351. 

Privateers,  foreign,  captured,  83, 
268  332. 

Prizefighting,  27, 159,  273,  813,  841, 
391,  533;  by  women,  168. 


Profanity  punished,  169,  263. 
Protestants,  foreign,  80,  289. 
Protheroe,  Philip,  477,  507,  582. 
Public-houses,  see  Alehouses. 
Publican,  a  clerical,  159,  388. 
Pugilists,  see  Prizefighting.        [465. 
Punishments,  excessive,  27,  815,  347, 

Quakers  persecuted,  19;  boarding- 
school,  43 ;  loan  to  Penn,  77 ;  tab- 
ooed, 85,  91 ;  decline  and  revival 
of  sect,  178;  fighting  Quakers, 
178,  285;  tithe-owners,  178,  286; 
penitents,  278. 

Quays,  new,  149,  817. 

■Quay  dues,  317. 

Quebsc  taken :  rejoicings,  339. 

Queen  Square,  25,  42,  45 ;  nuisances 
in,  98;  trees,  117,  413. 

Bace  meetings,  24,  122,  27a 

Randall,  Joseph,  136,  257. 

Randolph,  Dr.,  361.  [264. 

Rebellion   (1715)    110;    (1745)    255, 

Recorders:  Eyre.  123;  Scrope,  166, 
192;  Foster,  192,841 ;  Barrington, 
341,  870;  Dunning,  870;  Burke, 
4.55,  505 ;  Gibbs,  505 ;  fees  of,  123, 
192,  341,  405,  506. 

Recruiting  tricks,  270. 

Red  Book  of  Orders,  56.  252. 

Redcliff  Cross  and  churchyard,  358. 

Redcliff  Gate,  rebuilt,  17.5,  211 ;  re- 
moved, 896. 

Redcliff  Parade,  396. 

Redland  Court,  173;  Chapel,  178, 
448 ;  value  of  land,  284. 

Red  Lodge,  456,  479. 

Reeve,  William,  anecdote  of,  285, 
370 ;  see  Black  Castle. 

Regiments,  Bristol,  256,  506. 

Rennison's  Baths,  269. 

Rents,  344,  39a 

Revolution,  centenary  of,  487. 

Reynolds,  Richard,  72,  529. 

Riding  School,  first,  844. 

Ring,  Joseph,  287-a 

Rings,  funeral,  13 

Riots :  (1709)  78 ;  (1714)  107;  (1726) 
156  ;  (1728)  167  ;  (1738)  212  ; 
(1749)  274;  (1753)  803;  (1766) 
378;  (1780)  442;  Bristol  Bridge, 
500 ;  Food,  516,  531. 

Roads:  state  of,  23,  40,  155,  170,  214, 
270,  313,  497;  Kingcsweston,  65, 
331;  Pill,  325;  Whiteladies,  831, 
333 ;  cleansing,  340. 

Robinson,  Mrs.,  see  Darby. 

Rodney,  Lord,  in  Bristol,  452-3. 

Rogers,  Woodes,  Capt.,  74-7. 

Roman  Catholics,  115,  366. 


548 


INDVX. 


Bomsey,  John,  54,  74. 77. 
Boquet,  Bev.  J.,  892. 
Bouts  described,  52a 
Boyal  Oak  Day,  164,  483. 
Boyal  Family  privateers,  255,  259. 
Buddock,  Noblet,  142,  237. 
Bum  trade,  101, 102. 
Buscombe,  Mrs.,  murdered,  362. 

Sailors,  see  Seamen. 

St  Vincent,  Earl,  freedom  to,  522. 

Sallee  corsairs,  188,  225. 

Salt  refining,  289 ;  tax  en,  529. 

Sansom,  John,  54. 

Savage,  Bichard,  in  Bristol,  219. 

Scavenging,  30,  88,  82  ;  gratuitous,' 

Schoolmasters,  12, 128.  [840. 

Schools:  Queen  Eliz.  Hospital,  12, 
16,  46 ;  new  school-house,  47 ;  re- 
moved, 874 ;  cost  of  boarding, 
405,  485;  funds  misappropriated, 
442;  dietary,  485.  Ck)lston's,  80, 
88.  Orammar,  16,  119;  removed, 
874 ;  speech  day,  896.  Bed  Maids', 
12, 184;  cost  of  boarding,  134,  405. 
Charity,  12,  80,  184,  198,  218; 
Navigation,  99.  Bedcliff  Gram- 
mar, 12,  358.  Boarding,  43,  241, 
272, 438,  517,  518.  Misses  More's, 
331,486.   Day,  242,  367,  488. 

Scolds,  treatment  of,  27, 132,  859. 

Scrope,  John,  160, 166,  188,  854. 

Seafights,  gallant,  284,  250,  259, 
268, 382,  518. 

Seamen,  wages,  385,  454 ;  forging 
their  wills,  261 ;  required  for 
navy,  514 ;  proposed  hospital,  269 ; 
Me  Press-gfangs. 

Sea  Mills  dock,  98, 171,  296. 

Sea  walls,  266. 

Sectarian  divisions,  18, 108,  204. 

Sedan  chairs,  324. 

Selkirk,  Alexander,  found,  75-6. 

Sermons,  fee  for,  9,  99, 126. 

Servants,  domestic,  10, 182.         [528. 

Seyer,  Samuel,  243,  848,  374,  522, 

Shambles,  the,  208,  885. 

Shaving,  Sunday,  27,  306,  886,  381. 

Sheffield,  Lord,  448,  491, 518. 

Sheriff,  list  of,  584;  gloves,  37; 
dinners,  226,  251 ;  allowance,  251, 
430 ;  expenses,  480 ;  fine  for  refu- 
sing office,  87,  492. 

Sherry  trade,  104. 

Shipping,  Bristol,  6,  89;  seized  by 
corsairs,  188,  281 ;  size  of  vessels 
6, 188,  871,  517 ;  regulations,  394 
ship  sunk  by  a  press-gang,  822 
sunk  in  harbour,  117, 513 ;  embar 
go  on,  514. 


Shire hampton,  road,  65, 381 ;  Sunday 
coach,  457. 

Shoes,  bad,  destroyed,  155. 

Shops,  signs,  4,  278,  369;  open,  Sy 
264,  327 ;  tax  on,  465. 

Shot  factory.  458. 

Shrove  Tuesaay  sports,  138. 

Siddons,  Mrs.,  at  theatre,  489. 

Signs,  tradesmep's,  4,  278,  869. 

Silk  imports  prohibited,  42,  101^ 
372  ;  local  works,  372. 

Simmons,  John,  342. 

Sketchley's  Directory,  420. 

Slander,  actions  for,  859. 

Slave  dealing :  Assiento  treaty,  100 ; 
extent  of  local  trade,  89,  249,  271- 
2,  843,  880,  416,  477 ;  with  Mada- 
gascar, 127 ;  defended  by  Corpora- 
tion, 89, 249, 271 ;  enormous  profits, 
of,  142,  476-8 ;  slave  ship  captains, 
146,  880,  474 ;  tra^ies,  145,  801, 
343;  gin  trade,  SDO;  restrictions 
on,  418;  value  of  neeroes,  414, 
478;  Clarkson's  crusade,  478-8; 
local  agitation,  476-7 ;  atrocities,. 
477. 

Slaves  in  Bristol,  15, 146,  384,  492. 

Slaves,  Christian,  18B. 

Sledges  street,  8,  252,  527. 

Small,  I>r.  J.  A.,  479,  518. 

Small  pox,  ravages  of,  529. 

Smalridge,  Bishop,  108, 119,  123. 

Smith,  Sir  Sydney,  526. 

Smith,  Jarrit,  185,  228,  257,  818,  880, 
844,  883 ;  Joseph,  408,  412,  442 ; 
Bichard,  524, 

Smiths'  Hall,  806,  46a         [214,  217. 

Smoking,  prevalence  of,  9,  48,  52, 

Snuff  trade,  local.  269. 802,  480. 

Soap,  Irish,  seiaed,  312.  [188. 

Somerset,    wages  in,  182;   Society, 

South  Sea  Company,  90, 127. 

Southey,  Bobert,  397,  460,  510. 

Southwell,  Edward,  104,  224,  285, 
267,  281,  310. 

Southwell  Street,  205. 

Spain,  irritation  against,  174,  215 ; 
wars,  216,  351;  losses  of  Bristol- 
ians,  175,  216,  286;  peace,  274. 

Spelter  works,  67,  289. 

Spencer,  Hon.  John,  318. 

Spider ^s  web,  enormous,  106. 

Sports,  suburban,  27, 140. 

Stables,  circular,  344. 

Stamp  Office,  261.  [487. 

Stapleton  living,  98,  109;  common. 

Starch,  illicit,  418 ;  duty,  515. 

Steam  engines,  early,  244,  278 ; 
improvements,  487. 

Steep  Street,  881. 


INDEX. 


549 


Stephen^B,  St., lamp-rate, 88,  82  jcon- 
stables,  805  ;  windfalls,  306 ;  Pelo- 
quints  gift,  485  ;  vestry,  244,  514, 
525;  improvements,  899,  458,  497. 

Stewart,  James.  242.  [471. 

Stewards,  Lord  High,  87,  111,  209, 

Stocte,  the,  27,  169,  207,  268. 

Stoke  Park,  852,  867.  [64. 

Stokes  Croft,  2, 166, 489;  theatre,  61, 

Storm,  great,  the,  57. 

Streets,  narrowness  of,  8,  131,  460; 
pigs  in,  4,  527;  nuisances,  169; 
encroachments,  83 ;  fighting  in, 
855 :  footways  in,  896,  527 ;  bad 
condition,  856,  466,  526;  names 
posted  up,  491 ;  watering,  504. 

Strikes,  21,  70,  815,  885,  404,  497. 

Styles,  Old  and  New,  154,  29a 

Sugar  trade,  extent  of,  142, 802,  519. 

Sunday  restrictions,  56,  60,  806,  886 ; 
excursions,  859,  457, 490 ;  schools, 
460,  482 ;  evening  services,  519. 

Superstition,  popular,  56,  117,  224, 
294,  848. 

Sussex,  Earl  of,  freedom  to,  482. 

Swetnam,  J.,  889. 

Swimming  baths,  269,  815. 

Swords,  state,  100,  291. 

Tabernacle  account  book,  806. 

Tailors'  bill,  early,  109 ;  wages,  815 ; 
404 ;  hours,  851. 

Tailors  Company,  181,  460;  alms- 
house, 48. 

Talbot,  Bev.  Wm.,  898. 

Tanners*  grievances.  96. 

Tar,  Coal,  discoverea,  441. 

Tarring  and  feathering,  207. 

Tea-dnnking,  82,  814 ;  price  of  tea, 
82,895. 

Teast,  Sydenham,  896,  468,  474,  517. 

Temple  Street,  97,  Gate  rebuilt,  175, 
211;  schools,  80 ;  gardens,  98 ;  Cross, 
466 ;  churchyard,  249 ;  conduit,  185. 

Tennis  courts,  25, 818,  359,  506. 

Theatres,  early,  26;  agitation 
against,  60:  suppressed,  61-8; 
Jacob's  Wells,  68,  489 ;  at  fairs, 
64 ;  Theatre  Eoyal,  864,  400,  489, 
582 ;  at  Coopers'  Hall,  401. 

Thistlethwaite,  James,  411,  445. 

Thomas,  John,  71. 

Thome,  Nich.,  monument,  829. 

Tobacco,  see  Smoking  and  Snuff; 
trade,  185:  price  of,  416. 

Tokens,  local,  509. 

Tolzey,  Mayor's,  removed,  59;  mer- 
chants, 17,  118,  446 ;  brass  pillars, 
162, 188,  896 ;  St.  Nicholas',  60. 

Tontines,  Brunswick  Square,  479; 


circular  stables,  344 ;  warehouses, 
455 ;  projected,  455,  494. 

Tower,  Oreat,  on  Quay,  119. 

Town  Clerk,  insane,  251. 

Town  dues,  251,  417,  478;  receipts 
from,  479. 

Trade  Unions,  early,  21,  70. 

Trade,  restraints  on,  21,  176,  181, 
195, 260,  268,  401  (and  see  Foreign- 
ers); old,  128,421. 

Trading  frauds,  154,  197,  272,  437. 

Train  bands,  see  Militia. 

Traitor's  Bridge,  92,  526. 

''  Translator,"  A,  128. 

Transportation   system,    91,   150-8, 

287,  326,  469.  J?®^»  ^^• 

Travelling  discomforts,  22;  cheap- 
Trees  in  the  streets,  489. 

Trinity  Street  builtjl85. 

Trucks,  street,  68,  896. 

Trumpeters,  city,  59,  114. 

Tucker.  Josiah,  118,  288,  288-4,  289, 
819,  822,  828,  485,  462,  478. 

Tucker  Street,  466. 

Tuckett,  Philip  D.,  47a 

Turner,  William,  378. 

Turnpike  roads,  155,  274,  331,  406 ; 
riots,  156,  274  ;  cleansing,  340. 

Turtle,  civic  love  of,  823,  404,  517. 

Tyburn  ticket^  890. 

Tyndall,  Onesiphorus,  94,  145 ;  fam- 
ily. 190,  219,  334,  415,  479,  521. 

Tyndall's  Park,  884,  494. 

Type  factory,  177. 

Umbrellas,  early,  134 ;  Church,  187 ; 

modem,  419. 
Underbill.  John,  58. 
Union  with  Scotland,  73. 
Union  Street,  869,  895. 
Unity  Street,  287. 

Vaccination  discovered,  530. 

Vagrancy,  treatment  of,  121. 

Vaughan,  John,  186,  224,  282,  297, 
415,  482;  B.,  477. 

Vauxhall  wardens,  245,  423. 

Vernon,  Admiral,  241;  privateer,  217. 

Vick,  William,  63,  308. 

Visitors,  distinguished :  Queen  Anne, 
45 ;  Prince  of  Wales,  212 ;  Dukes  of 
York,  350,  867,  517;  Princess 
Amelia,  164;  Prince  of  Orange, 
187;  Jos.  Addison,  122;  T.  Clark- 
son,  473 ;  Edward  Colston,  46,  85 ; 
J.  Howard,  406,  487,  466;  Lady 
Huntingdon,  279,  420;  Mrs.  Inch- 
bald,  400;  Dr.  Johnson,  422;  Kos- 
ciusko, 522 ;  Marat,  482 ;  Pope,  222 ; 
Duke  of  Portland,  471 ;  Lord  Bod- 


550 


INDKX. 


Dey,  452 ;  Admiral  of  Sallee,  225 ; 
R.  Savage,  219;  Scheck  Schidit, 
192;  Sir  8.  Smith,  526;  Admiral 
Vernon,  241;  H.  Walpole,  377; 
John  Wilkes,  897. 
Volunteer  corps,  113-4, 256,  440,  516, 
520 ;  cavalry,  521. 

Wade,  Nathaniel,  78,  92. 

Wade  Street  and  Bridge,  92,  526. 

Wade,  General,  in  Bristol,  112. 

Wages,  rates  of,  59,   168,   182,  268, 
315,  372,  885,  404,  454. 

Wagons,  travelling,  73, 148, 268, 288, 
430 ;  forbidden  in  streets,  175. 

Waits,  city,  26,  114, 1S9. 

Wales,  Fred.,  Prince  of,  196,  212,236, 
290 ;  George,  336,  517. 

Wales,  French  landing  in,  520. 

Wallis,  John,  208,  266. 

Walpole,  Horace,  377,  88a 

War  proclaimed,  216,  249,  320,  499  ; 
losses  by,  286,  258,  415. 

War  ships  launched,  434,  448,  466. 

Warburton,  Dean,  827. 

Ward,  Edward,  52. 

Wasbrough,  Matthew,  437. 

Watching  Act,  30,  proposed  Bill, 
217 ;  Act,  311. 

Watcliman^  newspaper,  512. 

Watchmen,  city,  18,  30, 172, 197, 311, 
340. 

Water  Bailiff's  oar,  268. 

Water  Company,  82,  237,  451. 

Watering  places,  seaside,  440. 

Watts's  patent  snot,  453. 

Weare,  John  Fisher,  415,  477,  507 ; 
Wm.,  508. 

Weavers,  trade  union,  70;  assault 
women  in  streets,  125  ;  washing 
place,  125 ;  fatal  riots,  166 ;  wages, 
168;  Company,  470;  truck  sys- 
tem, 71,  209;  decline  of  trade,  81, 
209,  236,  515. 

Wedgwood,  Thomas,  504,  513. 

Weeks,  John,  405,  418,  458,  464,  484, 
506. 

Wesley,  John,  first  visit,  203:  at 
Hot  Well,  265 ;  at  election.  819 ; 
his  school,  272 ;  at  French  prison, 
889;  alleged  miracles,  266,  482; 
last  visit,  482. 

Wesley,  Charles,  204. 

Wesleyan  Conferences,  204 ;  dis- 
putes, 507. 

West  India  trade,  6,  89,  142;  pros- 
perity of,  234 ;  vessels,  871 ;  French 
islanas  taken,  348 ;  corporate  sym- 


pathy, 878,  892 ;  decline,  415,  519 ; 

names  of  merchants,  472. 
West  Street  fair,  166. 
Westbury,  living  of,  98,   109,   448, 

528 ;  volunteers,  521. 
Westmoreland,  Earl  of,  see  Fane. 
Weston-super-Mare,  441. 
Weymouth,  coach  to,  440. 
Whale,  ship  struck  by,  208 ;  fishing. 

296. 
Wharfage  dues,  81,  99,  817. 
Wheat,  price  of.  246,  516. 
Wheelage  toll,  252. 
Whipping,  pubUc,  27,  65    180,  224 

315,  856,  487 ;  paupers,  465. 
Whipping  posts,  27, 140,  26a 
Whitefield,  Geo.,  in  Bristol,  200,  306. 
Whitehall,  33, 124,  225. 
Whitehead's  poem,  28a 
Whiteladies  Boad,  331,  888. 
Whitson's  charity  funds,  496. 
Whitsuntide  sports,  814. 
Wigs  worn  by  boys,  158. 
Wild,  Jonathan,  180. 
Wilkes,  John,  891,  897. 
William  III,,  statue,  178,  198,  27a 
Williams,  (Sir)  Charles  F.,  524. 
Wills,  W.  and  H.  O.,  808. 
Wills,  local,  14 ;  forgery  of,  261. 
Wiltshire  Society,  188. 
Wine,  civic  gifts  of,  77,  86,  87,  104, 

209,  281,  811,  402,  582;  price  of, 

183,  319,  829,  856,  582;  change  of 

taste  in,  100;  "  Shainpeighn,'^214. 
Wine  Street,  scenes  in,  4, 148 ;  width 

of,  460 ;  value  of  sites  in,  4%. 
Witchcraft,  28,  249,  484 ;  at  Lamb 

inn,  84a 
Women,    treatment   of,    27-8,    65; 

boxing  by,  168 ;  races  by,  122,  279. 
Wood's  pencCj  183. 
Woollen,  burials  in,  9,  302. 
Worcester,  Marquis  of,  491,  5ia 
Wordsworth,  Wm.,  513. 
Worrall   family,  the,  261,  808,  351, 

898,  494. 
Wotton-under-Edge,  post  to,  39. 
Wraxall  family,  284, 30a 
Wrestling,  814. 
Wright,  Matthew,  473, 503,  507 

Yate,  Robert,  42,  58,  66,  85,  203. 

Yearsley,  Anne,  461. 

Yonge,  Bishop,  845. 

York.  Dukes  of,  350,  367,  517. 

York  Street,  372. 

Zinc  works,  see  Spelter. 


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